Muscovite 40Ar-39Ar age and its geological significance in Zhuxi W（Cu） deposit, northeastern Jiangxi

The Zhuxi W(Cu)skarn deposit,the world’s largest tungsten deposit is newly discovered in Jingdezhen city,northeastern Jiangxi province,China.It mainly occurs near the contact zone between the Yanshanian granites and the Late Paleozoic carbonate rocks.Three types of mineralization including skarn type,altered granite type and quartz vein veinlet type orebodies have been observed.In this study,the 40Ar 39Ar age of hydrothermal muscovite coexisting with copper mineralization in the altered granite type orebody formed near the unconformity interface is determined by step-heating technology using CO2 laser.The plateau age,isochron age,and inverse isochron age of muscovite are(147.39±0.94)Ma,(147.2±1.5)Ma,and(147.1±1.5)Ma,respectively.These ages are almost identical to the ages of ore-related granite and other mineralization types in the Zhuxi W(Cu)deposit,indicating that the Cu mineralizations occurred at the shallow depth and near the unconformity interface are contemporaneous during the Late Jurassic.This further suggested that the acompanied W and Cu mineralization in the Zhuxi W(Cu)deposit which may be controlled by the magma source is enriched in both W and Cu.

Collision Event during 177-135 Ma on the Eastern Marginof the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau: Evidence from 40Ar/ 39Ar Dating for Basaltson the Western Margin of the Yangtze Platform

Geochronology of continental flood basalts sampled from the Emei large igneous province (LIP) on the western margin of the Yangtze platform was investigated by the laser microprobe 40Ar/39Ar dating technique. These basalts yield a fairly wide range of 40Ar/39Ar ages, varying from 259 to 135 Ma. One basalt sample, at least altered, recorded the oldest 40Ar/39Ar age of about 259 Ma, corresponding to a peak eruption age of the Emei LIP continental flood basalts. Most of the samples yield much younger ages from 135 to 177 Ma, which are consistent with the K-Ar ages for the same samples (122.8-172.1 Ma). The dating data suggest that these Permian basalts had been widely affected by the regional tectonothermal event at 177-135 Ma. The event was probably caused by the convergence and collision among the Laurasia, Yangtze and Qiangtang-Qamdo continental blocks on the eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau after the late Triassic. The age of the event reflects the timing of the peak collisional orogeny.

Early Paleozoic basement diorite of arc-magmatism from Kutch basin, Western India

In this study,we report for thefirst time an Early Palaeozoic basement diorite from the drilled well Nirona-A in the Banni Half-Graben of the Kutch basin,western India.The 40Ar–39Ar dates provided a plateau age of 441.84±2.66 Ma and another pseudo plateau of 441.28±5.82 to 388.08±16.65 Ma for the basement diorite.These ages constrain the basement formation age to the Late Ordovician-Early Silurian period.The obtained basement ages are correlatable with the later part of Cambro-Ordovician alkaline magmatism that has been reported from the Huqf area in Central Oman,whereas their lithological and petrographic correlativity with base-ment diorites occurring in the Dinsi Body of Nagar Parkar igneous complex in Pakistan can also be envisaged.The geochemical studies characterized the diorite with enrich-ment of LILE(Rb,Ba,and K)and LREE(La,Ce,Nd),strong depletion of HFSE(Nb,Sr,P,and Ti),along with weakly negative Eu anomalies.The geochemical signatures indicate their petrogenetic affiliation with mantle-derived magmas,as well as their tectonic setting to be arc-related,having post-collisional continental-arc type affinity.The*440 Ma basement of Kutch,therefore,appears to rep-resent the later thermal event associated with the reworked Neoproterozoic subduction-related suite from Greater India’s northwest edge,which has implications for Gond-wana assembly in the northwest Indian subcontinent.

The ^(40)Ar-^(39)Ar ages of hornblendes in Grt-Pl-bearing amphibolite from the Larsemann Hils,East Antarctica and their geological implication

In this paper we reported the 40 Ar 39 Ar dating results of hornblendes in Grt Pl bearing amphibolite from the Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica. Their apparent ages respectively are 1586 Ma, 1011 1080 Ma, 761 Ma, 529 582 Ma. Their plateau ages of 1036 Ma and 554 Ma as well as an Ar Ar isochron age of 1010 Ma have also been obtained respectively. These isotopic dating results for the first time by the Ar Ar method for hornblendes completely record almost all the structural metamorphic thermal events that this region experienced, and provide an answer to the controversial question on the structural metamorphic thermal events of this region in recent several years, namely, which one is more important, the late Proterozoic 1000 Ma event (Grenvillian) or the early Palaeozoic 500 Ma event ( Pan African), as well as whether the former exists or not. The 40 Ar 39 Ar dating results of hornblendes show that the Larsemann Hills experienced a complicated poly metamorphic evolutionary history, and their protoliths were probably formed in early to mid Proterozoic. The late Proterozoic 1000 Ma event (Grenvillian) has been confirmed to be a predominant tectonothermal event whilst the early Palaeozoic 500 Ma event (Pan African) has been confirmed just to be the last strong tectonothermal event in this region.

Thermal Evolution of the Tanlu Fault Zone on the Eastern Margin of the Dabie Mountains and Its Tectonic Implications

Five samples of muscovite from mylonites of the earlier Tanlu ductile shear zone on the eastern margin of the Dabie Mountains yield 40Ar/39Ar ages ranging from 178 Ma to 196 Ma. Three of them have reliable plateau ages of 188.7±0.7 Ma, 189.7±0.6 Ma and 192.5±0.7 Ma respectively, which indicates a syn-orogenic, sinistral strike-slip thermal event. This displacement movement derived from the continent-continent collision of the North and South China blocks took place in the Early Jurassic and after uplifting of high-pressure to ultrahigh-pressure slabs to the mid-crust. It is suggested that during the collision the Tanlu fault zone was an intracontinental transform fault caused by differential subduction speeds. The 40Ar/39Ar ages of mylonite whole-rock and muscovite from the later Tanlu ductile shear zone suggest another sinistral strike-slip cooling event at 128 Ma. During this strike-slip faulting, large-scale intrusion and doming uplift occurred in the eastern part of the Dabie orogenic belt. Data of K-feldspar 40Ar/39Ar MDD and apatite fission-track analysis from metamorphic rocks indicate two high-speed cooling events experienced by the Tanlu fault zone, which took place at 90 Ma and 45-58 Ma respectively. They correspond respectively to two phases of extensional activities in the Late Cretaceous and Eogene as well as development of the Qianshan fault-controlled basin to the east of the Tanlu fault zone. The cooling times recorded by K-feldspar and apatite show that the uplifting in the Dabie orogenic belt occured earlier than that on the eastern margin occupied by the Tanlu fault zone. The above phenomena suggest that the uplifting of the Dabie orogenic belt during the Late Cretaceous to Eogene was not controlled by the Tanlu normal faulting, but as a result of the lithospheric delamination.

Eruption of the Continental Flood Basalts at -259 Ma in the Emeishan Large Igneous Province, SW China: Evidence from Laser Microprobe ^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar Dating

A suite of continental flood basalts sampled over a vast exposure and stratigraphic thickness in the Emeishan large igneous province （LIP）, SW China was investigated for laser microprobe ^40Ar/^39Ar dating. There are two ^40Ar/^39Ar age groups for these basalts, corresponding to 259-246 Ma and 177-137 Ma, respectively. A well-defined isochron gives an eruption age of huge quantities of mafic magmas at 258.9±3.4 Ma, which is identical to previous dating and paleontological data. Much younger ^40Ar/^39Ar ages for some basalts with Iow-greenschist metamorphic facies probably recorded a late thermo-tectonic event caused by collision between the Yangtze and Qiangtang continental blocks during the Mesozoic, which resulted in the reset of argon isotope system. The ^40Ar/^39Ar age data, we present here, combined with previous dating and paleontological data, suggest relatively short duration （about 3 Ma） of mafic volcanism, which have important implication on mantle plume genesis of the Emeishan continental flood basalts in the LIP.

Geochronology of the Dong Tso Ophiolite and the Tectonic Environment

The wedge shaped Dong Tso ophiolitic block is distributed near the transition point from the western to the middle sub-belt of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone.The ophiolite is characterized by well-developed cumulate rocks that are mainly composed of cumulate and massive gabbros.In the cumulate gabbros,the adcumulate amphiboles are distributed extensively around the plagioclase and residual pyroxene grains; hence,the rocks are named adcumulate amphibole-gabbro.In this study,the formation age of the ophiolite has been estimated to be 166 ± 4 million years （Ma） by the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe （SHRIMP） Ⅱ U-Pb isotopic analysis of the zircons from the adcumulate amphibole-gabbro; the 40Ar/39Ar plateau age was estimated to be 148.19 ± 1.53 Ma,which should represent the emplacement time of the ophiolite,by isotopic dating of the pure amphibole mineral from the amphibole-schist.Two different suits of volcanic lavas have been recognized in this work.The purple colored pillow basalts have high TiO2 and P2O5 contents,and are rich in light rare earth elements （LREEs）,large-ion lithospheric elements （LILEs） and high-field-strength elements （HFSEs）,the characteristics that are the typical of the oceanic island basalt （OIB）.On the other hand,other massive basaltic andesites of celadon color are poor in MgO; rich in Fe2O3,LREEs,LILEs,and HFSEs; and especially characterized by negative Nb and Ta anomalies,the properties that establish the andesites as continental arc volcanic rocks.It is concluded that hotspots had developed in the old Dong Tso basin,the oceanic basin that had been developing from middle Jurassic （166 Ma） or even before and emplaced northward in late Jurassic （about 148 Ma）.

New Discovery of the Early Cretaceous Volcanic Rocks on the Barton Peninsula,King George Island,Antarctica and Its Geological Significance

Ages determined with the 40Ar/39Ar isotopic system affirms the Early Cretaceous volcanic activity in the Barton Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica. Two specimens of basaltic andesite collected from the lower-most volcanic sequence of the peninsula were irradiated and analyzed in different experiments, yielding an identical age spectrum, and two magmatic thermal events of the Early Cretaceous (120.4±1.6 Ma, 119±1 Ma) and Early Tertiary (53.1±1.5 Ma, 52±1 Ma) are distinguished. The former is interpreted to represent the primary cooling age of basaltic andesite, whereas the latter is the thermal reset age caused by the intrusion of granitic pluton. These new ages clearly indicate that volcanism was active during the Early Cretaceous on the Barton Peninsula and that intensive hydrothermal alteration and mineralization of Mesozoic volcanic rocks resulted from Tertiary magmatism.

^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar isochron ages of lawsonite blueschists from Jiuquan in the northern Qilian Mountain,NW China,and their tectonic implications

Using laser 40Ar/39Ar dating method,we have gotten the metamorphic ages of lawsonite blueschist and epidote blueschist from Jiuquan,northern Qilian Mountain,NW China.The high quality laser 40Ar/39Ar dating of glaucophane from lawsonite blueschist gives an isochron age of 413±5 Ma.The isochron age obtained from phengite in epidote blueschist is 415±7 Ma.These data,combining with peak metamorphic P-T conditions and regional geological setting,allow us to infer that the lower limit of the ages of the prograde subduction metamorphism from lawsonite blueschist facies to epidote blueschist facies occurred at ca.413-415 Ma,which also suggests that the formation of lawsonite blueschist in the northern Qilian Mountain maybe resulted from the corner flow in the cold subduction zone.This study shows that the final closing time of the northern Qilian remnant oceanic basin is about 413-415 Ma,which also represents the convergent age between the North China Craton and the Qaidam block.

Studies on ^(40)Ar/^(39)Ar thermochronology of strike-slip time of the Tan-Lu fault zone and their tectonic implications

Samples of mylonite, ultramylonite and phyllonite were collected from 5 localities in the Anhui part of the Tan-Lu fault zone for 40Ar/39Ar chronological studies. Among them 4 samples from 3 localities on the eastern margin of the Dabie orogenic belt yielded 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 128 -132 Ma; and 2 samples from the western margin of the Zhangbalin uplift and eastern margin of the Bengbu uplift gave the same 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 120 Ma. Isochron analyses and other lines of evidence suggest that the data are reliable. The data are interpreted as cooling ages of sinistral strike-slip deformation of the Tan-Lu fault zone. The younger ages from the north might be related to slower strike-slip rising. These results indicate that the large-scale left-lateral displacement in the Tan-Lu fault zone took place in the Early Cretaceous, rather than in Late Triassic (Indosinian) as proposed by some geologists. Therefore, this fault zone is an intracontinental wrench fault rather than a transform fault or suture line developed during formation of the Dabie orogenic belt.

The Late Mesozoic Granodiorites from the Southwest Basin in the South China Sea and Its Tectonic Implication

The southwest basin is a key to study the origin and development of the South China Sea（SCS）.We do not know much about its boundaries,geological history,and the formation of its sea floor because it has a complex and highly re-gional structural background,notable sediment activity,and yet few floor rocks.Here a grano-diorite sample was collected from the southern margin of the southwest basin of the South China Sea.The results indicated that the 40Ar-39Ar ages of biotites in the sample are 110.3±0.5 Ma,suggesting that they were prod-ucts of magmatic intrusion during the Early Cretaceous period.The sample＇s geochemistry showed it had high SiO2,K2O,and Al2O3 but low TiO2 levels.Tectonic discriminant diagrams suggested that the sample might represent extrusion-related magmatism,either in an arc or forearc setting in the SCS area and that the sample mainly belonged to the syncollision type,whose formation was related to orogenies.The sample may be part of the main rock that made up the boundaries of rift system.The process of tension cracking was similar to the development of the Red Sea,in which the rifting and sagging occurred in the continental crust.The southwest basin may not be an original ocean,but a rift developed through finite extension on continental crust basement.The oceanic crust came into being when the width and depth of the rift valley reached a certain scale.The granodiorite sample we collected provides a means of determining the boundary of the southwest basin and the clues that may help researchers expand relevant models.It constitutes an important datum regarding the analysis of the formation and development of the SCS.