Characteristics of Blueschist in Shuangjiang Tectonic Mélange Zone,West Yunnan Province

Glaucophane in Shuangjiang area, West Yunnan Province, supplies a chance for studying south segment of Lancangjiang tectonic zone. But people are at odds as to whether two stage glaucophane exists or not, glaucophane is the result of dynamic metamorphism later, or indicates a high P/T metamorphic belt when Paleozoic Tethys Sea closed. Authors discover in a recent research that there is only one stage glaucophane in Shuangjiang area, and three blueschist belts are distributed near N S tending, and glaucophane in Shuangjiang area is related to the eastward subduction of Changning Menglian basin.

Study of the High Pressure Metamorphic Blueschist and Its Late Proterozoic Age in the Eastern Jiangnan Belt

Several blueschist outcrops, specially glaucophane-bearing ones, were found in Dexing, eastern Jiangnan belt. The latest researches suggest that the blueschists distributed in the Late Proterozoic ophiolite melange blocks of the northeastern Jiangxi fault zone between the Jiuling tectonic region and the Huaiyu tectonic region of volcanic are that is located near the frontier of Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces (Fig. 1).

Petrology and ^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar iso-topic ages of blueschists in Gangmar, central Qiangtang, northern Tibet

The petrology and mineral assemblages of blueschists in the Gangmar, central Qiangtang, northern Tibet were examined, which indicates that the metamorphic condition is high-pressure low-temperature. In this note, we reported the 40Ar/39Ar dating results of glaucophane from two blueschist samples. Their apparent ages are (275.0±1.3) Ma and (287.6±2.3) Ma and similar isochron ages are (275.0±0.9) Ma and (282.4±0.8) Ma, respectively. These iso-topic datings show the high-pressure metamorphism occurring in Lower Permian. The ages also coincide with the evolution of Palaeo-Tethys ocean in Late Palaeozoic.

Blueschist:A window into high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphism and subduction zone dynamics

Blueschist is a regional metamorphic rock formed under high-pressure(HP)low-temperature(LT)conditions.It is formed in the subduction zone environment with low geothermal gradients(4-14℃km^(−1)),and is characterized by the presence of HP/LT index minerals like glaucophane,lawsonite,aragonite,jadeite,and deerite.In general,blueschist-facies rocks are stable in subduction zones at depths of 30-60 km,and transform to eclogite-facies rocks at greater depths.The preservation of blueschists requires a fast exhumation rate.Based on protolith and tectonic setting,blueschists can be grouped into Type-A and Type-B,but some metasomatic blueschists also occur.Blueschist belts distribute mainly as bands along the margins of orogenic belts,and their occurrences within cratons are very limited.Precambrian blueschists,of which the oldest ones are about 800-700 Ma in age,are rare;most of the exposed blueschist terranes are of post-Paleozoic metamorphic age.As diagnostic evidence of ancient subduction zones,blueschist plays an important role in understanding plate tectonics.Blueschist-eclogite transition at cold subduction zones involves dehydration reactions and fluid release,which are of great importance in facilitating slab-mantle wedge water and element recycling,generating arc magmatism,and triggering intermediate-depth earthquakes in the subducting slab.Metamorphic P-T paths of blueschists and associated rocks provide key information on constraining the onset of the subduction initiation and subsequent geodynamic evolution.As a cold geothermal indicator,the emergence of blueschist offers robust evidence for the start of modern plate tectonics on the Earth.Blueschist-facies metamorphism still represents an important research direction in metamorphic geology,which requires further investigations on determining the beginning of plate tectonics,constraining phase-transition processes,and constructing a global blueschist database.