Provenance of Conglomerate and Sandstone from Early Permian Shoushangou Formation in Xi Ujimqin,Inner Mongolia:Implications for Understanding Paleo-Asian Ocean Subduction

During the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian,a rift was formed by post-collisional extension after ocean closure or an island arc-related basin formed by Paleo-Asian Ocean(PAO)subduction in the Xi Ujimqin area.Nevertheless,the closure time of the PAO is still under debate.Thus,to identify the origin of the PAO,the geochemistry and U-Pb age of zircons were analyzed for the extra-large deep marine,polymict clastic boulders and sandstones in the Shoushangou Formation within the basin.The analyses revealed magmatic activity and tectonic evolution.The conglomerates include megaclasts of granite(298.8±9.1 Ma)and granodiorite porphyry(297.1±3.1 Ma),which were deposited by muddy debris flow.Results of this study demonstrated that the boulders of granitoids have the geochemistry of typical I-type granite,characterized by low Zr+Nb+Ce+Y and low Ga/Al values.The granitoid boulders were formed in island arc setting,indicating the presence of arc magmatism in the area that is composed of the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian subduction-related granitoid in southern Xi Ujimqin.Multiple diagrams for determining sedimentary provenance using major and trace elements indicate that Shoushangou sediments originated from continental island arc-related felsic rocks.Detrital zircon U-Pb age cluster of 330–280 Ma was obtained,indicating input from granite,ophiolite,Xilin Gol complex,and Carboniferous sources to the south.The basin was geographically developed behind the arc during the Early Permian period because the outcropped intrusive rocks in the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian form a volcanic arc.The comprehensive analyses of source areas suggest that Shoushangou sediments developed in a backarc basin in response to the northward subduction of the PAO.The backarc basin and intrusive rocks,in addition to previously published Late Carboniferous to Early Permian magmatic rocks of arc unit in Xilin Gol,confirm the presence of an Early Permian trencharc-basin system in the region,represented by the Baolidao arc and Xi Ujimqin backarc basin.This study highlights the importance and potential of combined geochemical and geochronological studies of conglomerates and sandstone for reconstructing the geodynamic setting of a basin.

The Early Permian Woniusi Flood Basalts from the Baoshan Terrane, SW China: Petrogenesis and Geodynamic Implications

The Woniusi flood basalts from the Baoshan terrane,SW China,represent a significant eruption of volcanic rocks which were linked to the Late Paleozoic rifting of the Cimmeria from the northern margin of East Gondwana.However,the precise mechanism for the formation and propagation of the rifting is still in debate.Here we report 40 Ar/39 Ar dating,whole-rock geochemistry,and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes for the Woniusi basalts from the Baoshan terrane of SW China,with the aim of assessing if a mantle plume was related to the formation of the continent Cimmeria.40 Ar/39 Ar dating of the Woniusi basalts yielded ages of 279.3±1.1 Ma and 273.9±1.5 Ma,indicating they were emplaced during the Early Permian.Whole-rock geochemistry shows that these basalts have subalkaline tholeiitic affinity,low Ti O2(1.2-2.2 wt%),and fractionated chondrite-normalized LREE and nearly flat HREE patterns[(La/Yb)N=2.86-5.77;(Dy/Yb)N=1.21-1.49]with noticeable negative Nb and Ta anomalies on the primitive mantle-normalized trace element diagram.Theε(Nd)(t)values(-4.76 to+0.92)and high(206 Pb/204 Pb)i(18.40-18.66)along with partial melt modeling indicates that the basalts were likely derived from a sub-continental lithospheric mantle(SCLM)source metasomatized by subduction-related processes.On the basis of a similar emplacement age to the Panjal basalts and Qiangtang mafic dykes and flood basalts in the Himalayas,combined with a tectonic reconstruction of Gondwana in the Early Permian,we propose that the large-scale eruption of these basalts and dykes was related to an Early Permian mantle plume that possibly initiated the rifting on the northern margin of East Gondwana.

Petrogenesis of Early Permian Intrusive Rocks from Southeastern Inner Mongolia, China: Constraints on the Tectonic Framework of the Southeastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt

The late Paleozoic tectonic framework of the southeastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt is key to restricting the accretion orogeny between the Siberia Craton and the North China Craton. To clarify the framework, petrogenesis of early Permian intrusive rocks from southeastern Inner Mongolia was studied. Zircon U-Pb dating for bojite and syenogranite from Ar-Horqin indicate that they were emplaced at 288–285 Ma. Geochemical data reveal that the bojite is highly magnesian and low-K to middle-K calc-alkaline, with E-MORB-type REE and IAB-like trace element patterns. The syenogranite is a middle-K calc-alkaline fractionated A-type granite and shows oceanic-arc-like trace element patterns, with depleted Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes,(~(87)Sr/~(86)Sr)I = 0.7032–0.7042, ε_(Nd)(t) = +4.0 to +6.6 and zircon ε_(Hf)(t) = +11.14 to +14.99. This suggests that the bojite was derived from lithospheric mantle metasomatized by subducted slab melt, while the syenogranite originated from very juvenile arc-related lower crust. Usng data from coeval magmatic rocks from Linxi-Ar-Horqin, the Ar-Horqin intra-oceanic arc was reconstructed, i.e., initial transition in 290–280 Ma and mature after 278 Ma. Combined with regional geological and geophysical materials in southeastern Inner Mongolia, an early Permian tectonic framework as ‘one narrow ocean basin of the PAO', ‘two continental marginal arcs on its northern and southern' and ‘one intra-oceanic arc in its southern' is proposed.

Early Permian Qiangtang Mantle Plume, Northern Tibet, China: Evidence from Geochemistry, Geochronology and Geological Responses

Late Paleozoic igneous rocks are extensively developed in Qiangtang terrene,including west Qiangtang(WQT),east Qiangtang(EQT)and the central Qiangtang(CQT)metamorphic belt.The igneous rocks distributed in

Distribution of Rare Earth Elements in Early Permian Reef-Island Ocean Sediments in Eastern Kunlun

Based on the study of stratigraphy and fossils, the Early Permian ocean in eastern Kunlun is recognized as a kind of reef-island ocean, in which there exist many different kinds of sediment, including patch carbonate platform, reef fades, transitional facies and deep basin sediments. It has been found that the total contents of REEs increase gradually from carbonate platform facies to deep basin facies. Meanwhile, sediments of different facies have different REE distribution patterns and different Ce anomalies. Most of the sediments of patch carbonate platform facies or reef facies are characterized by extremely negative Ce anomalies or moderately negative Ce anomalies (Ce/Ce*=0.33 to 0.55), and medium or thin-bedded limestones of transitional facies by moderately negative Ce anomalies (Ce/Ce*=0.49 to 0.60). However, sediments of deep basin facies show weak or no negative Ce anomalies (Ce/Ce*=0.69 to 1.47), among which the value of Ce/Ce* in the radiolarian chert is 1.47.

The Relationship between the Distribution of Thick Coal Belts and the Late Carboniferous-Early Early Permian Marine Transgression-Regression in the North China Platform

Four great second-order transgressions occurred during the Late Carboniferous to early Early Permian and they came from both the eastern and western sea areas in the North China Platform. As time went on, depocentres, depositional extent, transgression directions, coastline position and distribution of minable coal seams were changing continuously. The third great second-order transgression occurring at the beginning of the early Early Permian marks the maximum transgression period and before its arrival, i.e. at the close of the late Late Carboniferous, there was the super-regional coal-forming environment. During the second, third and fourth transgressions, the northern North China Platform was all along situated on the transgressive margin of the epicontinental sea and became the major distribution area of thick coal belts because it maintained a coal-forming environment for a long period of time from the close of the late Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian.