Lithospheric versus asthenospheric source of the SW Amazonian craton A-types granites： the role of the Paleo-and Mesoproterozoic accretionary belts for their coeval continental suites

The tectonic setting and source of the Paleo-and Mesoproterozoic magmatic suites in the SW Amazonian craton revealed by integrated isotopic and geochemical data allow correlation between the accretionary mobile belts and the contemporary continental magmatism (e.g. rapakivi complexes) within the foreland. The continental magmatism may represent the synorogenic response to high heat flow in the asthenosphere resulting from oceanic crust subduction, which led to the development of the successive Proterozoic magmatic arcs.

Thermal Structure and Rheology of the Upper Mantle Derived from Mantle Xenoliths from Gansu Province, Western China

Mantle xenoliths brought up by Cenozoic volcanic rocks onto the earth’s surface may provide direct information about the upper mantle beneath the volcanic region. This paper presents the study on mantle xenoliths collected from Haoti village, Dangchang County, Gansu Province, western China. The main purpose of the study is to gain an insight into the thermal structure and rheology of the upper mantle beneath the region. The results show that the upper mantle of the region is composed mainly of spinel lherzolite at shallower depth (52～75km), and garnet lherzolite at greater depth (greater than 75km), instead of harzburgite and dunite as proposed by some previous studies. The upper mantle geotherm derived from the equilibrium temperatures and pressures of xenoliths from the region is lower than that of North China, and is somewhat closer to the Oceanic geotherm. The crust-mantle boundary is determined from the geotherm to be at about 52km, and the Moho seems to be the transition zone of lower crust material with spinel lherzolite. If we take 1280℃ as the temperature of the top of asthenosphere, then the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary should be at about 120km depth. The differential stress of the upper mantle is determined by using recrystallized grain size piezometry, while the strain rate and equivalent viscosity are determined by using the high temperature flow law of peridotite. The differential stress, strain rate and viscosity profiles constructed on the basis of the obtained values indicate that asthenospheric diapir occurred in this region during the Cenozoic time, resulting in the corresponding thinning of the lithosphere. However, the scale and intensity of the diapir was significantly less than that occurring in the North China region. Moreover, numerous small-scale shear zones with localized deformation might occur in the lithospheric mantle, as evidenced by the extensive occurrence of xenoliths with tabular equigranular texture.

Thermodynamic evolution of lithosphere of the North China craton:Records from lower crust and upper mantle xenoliths from Hannuoba

Major element compositions of garnet, clino-pyroxene, orthopyroxene and spinel in the garnet-bearing lower crust and upper mantle xenoliths from Hannuoba, North China craton are analyzed by the electron microprobe (EMP). The pressure-temperature estimates reveal the in-creasing temperature and pressure from core to rim for granulites. In contrast, mantle xenoliths with core tempera-ture > 930℃ recorded a history of decrease in temperature and pressure. However, those with core temperature < 930℃ show a negligible change. The final pressures recorded by these xenoliths cluster at 0.9—1.5 GPa. The presence of high- Na2O cpx in granulite xenoliths suggests that they are prod-ucts of the transition from granulite to eclogite metamor-phism corresponding to the increasing temperature and pressure. Together with previous studies, it is suggested that the P-T changes preserved in the xenoliths are related to lithospheric thickening and subsequent thinning prior to their eruption in the Cenozoic.

Paleogeographic evolution of the Lower Yangtze region and the break of the “platform-slope-basin” pattern during the Late Ordovician

Wide distribution of the black shales and diversification of the graptolite fauna in South China during the Late Ordovician resulted from its unique paleogeographic pattern, which was significantly affected by the paleogeographic evolution of the Lower Yangtze region. In the study, 120 Upper Ordovician sections from the Lower Yangtze region were collected, and a unified biostratigraphic framework has been applied to these sections to establish a reliable stratigraphic subdivision and correlation. Under the unified time framework, we delineate the distribution area of each lithostratigraphic unit, outline the boundary between the sea and land, and reconstruct the paleogeographic pattern for each graptolite zone. The result indicates that, with the uplift and expansion of the ‘Jiangnan Oldland' in the beginning of the late Katian, the oldland extended into the Yangtze Sea gradually from south to north, which finally separate the Jiangnan Slope and the Yangtze Platform. Consequently,the longstanding paleogeographic pattern of "platform-slope-basin" in South China was broken. The paleogeographic change led to sedimentary differentiation among the two sides of the ‘Jiangnan Oldland' during the Late Ordovician. This event also led to the closure of the eastern exit of the Upper Yangtze Sea, and formed a semi-closed, limited and stagnant environment for the development of the organic-rich black shales during the Late Ordovician. The major controlling factors of these paleogeographic changes in the Lower Yangtze region were not consistent from the Katian to the Hirnantian. In the late Katian, the sedimentary differentiation between the east and west sides mostly resulted from regional tectonic movement-the Kwangsian Orogeny.However, during the Hirnantian, the whole Yangtze region became shallower, which was mostly influenced by the concentration of the Gondwana ice sheet and the consequent global sea level drop.