Ultrahigh-pressure and Retrograde Metamorphic Ages for Paleozoic Protolith of Paragneiss in the Main Drill Hole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project(CCSD-MH),SW Sulu UHP Terrane

Laser Raman spectroscopy and cathodoluminescence （CL） images show that most zircon crystals separated from paragneiss in the main drill hole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project （CCSD-MH） at Maobei, southwestern Sulu terrane, contain low-pressure mineral-bearing detrital cores, coesite-bearing mantles and quartz-bearing or mineral inclusion-free rims. SHRIMP U-Pb dating on these zoned zircons yield three discrete and meaningful age groups. The detrital cores yield a large age span from 659 to 313 Ma, indicating the protolith age for the analyzed paragnelss is Paleozoic rather than Proterozoic. The coesite-bearing mantles yield a weighted mean age of 228 ± 5 Ma for the UHP event. The quartz-bearing outmost rims yield a weighted mean age of 213 ± 6 Ma for the retrogressive event related to the regional amphibolite facies metamorphism in the Sulu UHP terrane. Combined with previous SHRIMP U-Pb dating results from orthogneiss in CCSD-MH, it is suggested that both Neoproterozoic granitic protolith and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks were subducted to mantle depths in the Late Triassic. About 15 million years later, the Sulu UHP metamorphic rocks were exhumed to mid-crustal levels and overprinted by an amphibolite-facies retrogressive metamorphism. The exhumation rate deduced from the SHRIMP data and metamorphic P-T conditions is about 6.7 km/Ma. Such a fast exhumation suggests that the Sulu UHP paragnelss and orthogneiss returned towards the surface as a dominant part of a buoyant sliver, caused as a consequence of slab breakoff.

A Study on the Classification and Well-Logging Identification of Eclogite in the Main Hole of Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project

Eclogite, one of the important lithologies in the main hole of the Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling （CCSD） Project, exists above the depth of 3 245 m and has distinctive responses of gamma-ray, compensating density and neutron well-logging, and so on. In this study, according to the diversities of minerals and chemical components and well-logging responses, edogites are classified from three aspects of origin, content of oxygen, and sub-mineral. We studied the logging identification method for eclogite sub-classes based on multi-element statistics and reconstructed 11 kinds of eclogite. As a result, eclogites can be divided into 6 types using well logs. In the light of this recognition, the eclogite in the main hole is divided into 20 sections, and the distribution characters of all sub-classes of eclogite are analyzed, which will provide important data for geological research of CCSD.

On Geophysical Background of Superlarge Deposits in the Chinese Continent

Based on the study of tens of geophysical profiles (seismic, geothermal flow and magnetotelluric sounding profiles) and 3-D shear wave velocity structures of the Chinese continent and its neighbouring regions, this paper describes the 3-D crustal and upper mantle structures and discusses briefly the deep geophysical background of superlarge ore deposits in the Chinese continent. Superlarge deposits are usually very few in number, but they are distributed still in certain forms such as “point”, “zone” and “area”. Most of the large-, medium- and small-sized deposits occur near the margins of different tectonic units; while the superlarge endogenic polymetallic deposits occur mostly in thinned mantle lithosphere, uplifts of the asthenosphere (vertical low-velocity zones) and the transformation zones of lateral inhomogeneity (weak zones) in the upper mantle. The superlarge endogenic polymetallic deposits are almost unevenly distributed in three major ore zones in China, corresponding to the boundaries of inhomogeneous regions in the asthenosphere.

Kenya Airways Increase Flight Frequency to Inner African Continent For Chinese Passengers

Kenya Airways recently announced Chinese passengers would have a much easier transfer to the Gaborone of Botswana from Nairobi in Kenya.From June 30 Kenya Airways will increase its flight frequency to Gaborone to four flights every week.And from September 1,the number will reach five.Flights to Abidjan of Ivory Coast were also resumed again on May 2.