Mineralogy and geochemistry of hydrothermal sulphide from a submarine volcanic high at 18°36.4'S Central Lau Spreading Center, Southwest Pacific

We report the mineralogy and geochemistry of hydrothermal sulphide from the crater of a volcanic high near 18°36.4′S of the Central Lau Spreading Center.During 1990s,that volcanic structure was reported active and sulphide samples were collected by MIR submersible.A section of a chimney-like structure from the crater-floor was studied here.The Fe-depleted sphalerites,and Co-depleted pyrites in that chimney were similar to those commonly found in low to moderate temperature(<300℃)sulphides from sediment-starved hydrothermal systems.Bulk analyses of three parts of that chimney section showed substantial enrichment of Zn(18%–20%)and Fe(14%–27%)but depletion of Cu(0.8%–1.3%).In chondrite-normalized rare earth element-patterns,the significant negative Ce-anomalies(Ce/Ce*=0.27–0.39)and weakly positive Eu-anomalies(Eu/Eu*=1.60–1.68)suggested sulphide mineralisation took place from reduced low-temperature fluid.The depleted concentration of lithophiles in this sulphide indicates restricted contribution of sub-ducting plate in genesis of source fluid as compared to those from other parts of Lau Spreading Centre.Uniform mineralogy and bulk composition of subsamples across the chimney section suggests barely any alteration of fluid composition and/or mode of mineralisation occurred during its growth.

The magmatic activity mechanism of the fossil spreading center in the Southwest sub-basin, South China Sea

Petrogeochemical data indicate that after the end of seafloor spreading,residual magmatic activity still exists in the deep basin of the South China Sea.By using different viscous structure models beneath the fossil spreading center of the Southwest sub-basin we simulated the amount of melt produced,the length of the melting period,and the thermal evolution process in terms of geothermics and the buoyant decompression melting mechanism.We compared the results of our model with observed heat flow,seismic,and petrogeochemistry data.The results show that depletion buoyancy induced by buoyant decompression melting plays an important role in the melting process,while retention buoyancy,thermal buoyancy,and viscous shear force have only a weak influence on the melting process.From the length of the melting period,we determined that for the three viscous structures models the magmatic activity lasted about 5,12,and 15 Ma.Under the effect of buoyant depression melting,local high-temperature areas will develop under the basin,which can explain the low-velocity layer detected by seismic exploration in the middle and upper lithosphere of the Southwest sub-basin.We also simulated the possible lithology distribution beneath the fossil spreading center with the physical conditions of different viscous structure,different temperature structure,and different melting fraction,which provided a greater understanding of the rock petrogeochemical data of the deep sea basin in the South China Sea.

Preliminary K-Ar geochronology of lavas from southern Lau Basin

In this short note, we report the ages of five lava samples from a segment of the Eastern Lau Spreading Center （ELSC） and three samples from the Valu Fa Ridge （VFR） in the southern Lau Basin. These samples were collected in situ from the axes and flanks of the spreading centers in the basin. These ages provide a key to better understanding the spreading mode, crustal formation and overall tectonic evolution of the basin. Except for two basaltic andesites and one andesite, the lavas analyzed are basalts. The ages of the lavas from ELSC range from （1.45±0.15） Ma to （0.74±0.04） Ma whereas those from VFR range from （0.50±0.06） Ma to （0.32±0.27） Ma, and the basalts give the oldest ages. The relatively younger ages of the VFR lavas are consistent with proposed tectonic evolution of the southern Lau Basin, i.e., VFR is a propagating extension of ELSC. The occurence of older lavas close to or on spreading axes in the southern Lau Basin implies the complex tectonic evolution of the basin. These results underscore a need for further detailed geophysical and geological studies in the southern Lau Basin, in order to better clarify the crustal accretion tectonic evolution in this area.

Trace element tectonic discrimination of granitoids:inspiration from big data analytics

The tectonic environment of granitoids has always been a concern of the academic community.The Nb vs.Y and Rb vs.Nb+Y diagrams have had a substantial impact.The present work uses more than 110,000 granitoid samples(SiO_(2)≥56%)from the globally shared database to discuss the validity and also explain why these diagrams used for discrimination between the different tectonic settings of granitoid rocks.The amount of data from the spreading center is sparse and the data are highly scattered and so,the present study focuses mainly on granites from the ocean islands and convergent margins tectonic environments.On the TAS diagram most of the ocean island data are alkaline series and trachybasalt series,and some are bimodal.In contrast,the granitoids on the convergent margin are mainly sub-alkaline.This work shows that the tectonic discrimination diagrams of granitoids remain valid,and only the boundaries need to be slightly adjusted.

Synchronous formation of the‘forearc’Bay of Islands ophiolite and its basal high-temperature metamorphic sole constrained by U-Pb zircon ages

The welded metamorphic sole at the base of the Bay of Islands Ophiolite Complex(BOIC)in the Northern Appalachians of Newfoundland shows a typical inverted pressure-temperature(P-T)metamorphic gradient from HT-MP granulite to LT-LP greenschist facies.It incorporates mafic volcanic/plutonic protoliths mixed with pelagic,hemi-pelagic and coarser epiclastic sedimentary protoliths.New LA-ICP-MS U–Pb concordia ages,trace elements,and Ti-in-zircon geothermometry for -250 zircon analyses from three metabasites of the upper HT sole amphibolites with N-MORB-like protoliths are reported.Two samples collected within meters of the ophiolite peridotite-sole contact of the Blow Me Down Mountain and North Arm Mountain massifs yielded the oldest comparable concordia ages of 487.7±2.6 Ma and 489.1±3.1 Ma,respectively,that are both within error of the igneous age of 488.3±1.5 Ma of the directly overlying BOIC ophiolite,which formed at a supra-subduction zone(SSZ)forearc spreading center.A third slightly younger age of 484.2±2.4 Ma was obtained for an upper HT amphibolite sample with similar phase assemblages but collected30 m below the peridotite contact of the Table Mountain massif.Zircon crystals analyzed have similar size and morphologies,subparallel rare earth element(REE)variation patterns,and steep heavy REE-enrichments((Lu/Gd)_(cn)>20),significant positive Ce anomalies(dominantly>5)and slight positive to dominantly negative Eu anomalies(1.2–0.4).Zircon shows Th/U mean values of 0.37–0.48 with little to no rim to core variation.Minimum Ti-in-zircon mean crystallization temperatures range from764–787℃.These neocrystallized zircon crystals appear to be derived from thin leucosomes within the three amphibolites.Two other samples also from the upper HT sole show evidence of inherited detrital zircon with core dates spanning the Cambrian Notre Dame Arc through older Laurentian-like basement and rift age ranges.Subcretion of the sole took place below a hot forearc asthenospheric wedge,that is,a consequence of the newly-formed BOIC forearc spreading center extending from the back arc to a triple junction along the westward-(or paleo-northward)verging trench of the Notre Dame arc.The early HT sole formation age at ca.489–488 Ma is long prior to initiation of obduction at ca.470 Ma and long after initiation of subduction beneath the paleo-northward verging Notre Dame peri-Laurentian arc at ca.514 Ma.This indicates Newfoundland sole ages of the BOIC and St.Anthony Complex are correlated with the age of SSZ spreading,but not necessarily subduction initiation because previously existing and self-sustaining subduction was ongoing.Sole ages are then not correlated with the younger age of obduction-related orogenic events(e.g.,proposed Taconic I and II)in the Newfoundland Appalachians.