Xiba Granitic Pluton in the Qinling Orogenic Belt, Central China: Its Petrogenesis and Tectonic Implications

Xiba granitic pluton is located in South Qinling tectonic domain of the Qinling orogenic belt and consists mainly of granodiorite and monzogranite with significant number of microgranular quartz dioritic enclaves. SHRIMP zircon U-Pb isotopic dating reveals that the quartz dioritic enclaves formed at 214±3 Ma, which is similar to the age of their host monzogranite （218±1 Ma）. The granitoids belong to high-K calc-alkaline series, and are characterized by enriched LILEs relative to HFSEs with negative Nb, Ta and Ti anomalies, and right-declined REE patterns with （La/Yb） N ratios ranging from 15.83 to 26.47 and δEu values from 0.78 to 1.22 （mean= 0.97）. Most of these samples from Xiba granitic pluton exhibit εNd（t） values of 8.79 to 5.38, depleted mantle Nd model ages （T DM ） between 1.1 Ga and 1.7 Ga, and initial Sr isotopic ratios （ 87 Sr/ 86 Sr） i from 0.7061 to 0.7082, indicating a possible Meso-to Paleoproterozoic lower crust source region, with exception of samples XB01-2-1 and XB10-1 displaying higher （ 87 Sr/ 86 Sr） i values of 0.779 and 0.735, respectively, which suggests a contamination of the upper crustal materials. Quartz dioritic enclaves are interpreted as the result of rapid crystallization fractionation during the parent magmatic emplacement, as evidenced by similar age, texture, geochemical, and Sr-Nd isotopic features with their host rocks. Characteristics of the petrological and geochemical data reveal that the parent magma of Xiba granitoids was produced by a magma mingling process. The upwelling asthenosphere caused a high heat flow and the mafic magma was underplated into the bottom of the lower continent crust, which caused the partial melting of the lower continent crustal materials. This geodynamic process generated the mixing parent magma between mafic magma from depleted mantle and felsic magma derived from the lower continent crust. Integrated petrogenesis and tectonic discrimination with regional tectonic evolution of the Qinling orogen, it is suggested that the granitoids are most likely products in a post-collision tectonic setting.

Age and geochemistry of the Neoproterozoic granitoids in the the Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range Massif, NE China: Petrogenesis and tectonic implications

1 Introduction The Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range Massif(SZRM)crops out over an extensive part of NE China and was thought to contain Precambrian crystalline basement material,as evidenced by the presence of what appears to bePaleoproterozoicbasementmaterialwithin exploration drillholes(Pei et al.,2007).An alternative view is that the basement within the SZRM is

Oceanic Island Basalts within the West Junggar Ophiolitic Mélanges: Petrogenetic and Tectonic Implications

Recently, we focused on the Darbut and Karamay ophiolitic m41anges in West Junggar of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt （CAOB, SengOr et al., 1993; Windley et al., 2007; Xiao and Santosh, 2014）, and made much progress. This study was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China （No. 41303027） and Special Fund for Basic Scientific Research of Central Colleges Project （No. 2014G1271058）. The achievements are illustrated as follows.

Geochronology and Tectonic Implications of Diabase Intruded Into Xiangshan Group in the Southeastern Alxa Block, NW China

The southeastern Alxa Block(i.e.,the Hexi Corridor)is a tectonic junction between the North China Block(NCB)to the east,the Alxa Block to the north,and the western Qinling–North Qilian Orogenic Belt to the southwest(Fig.1).The southeastern Alxa Block had undergone

Depth and region dependence of b-value for micro-aftershocks of the May 12th,2008 Wenchuan earthquake and its tectonic implications

Micro-aftershocks with magnitude range of 1.5--4 around the Wenchuan earthquake epicenter, the southern part of the Longmenshan fault zone, exhibit good frequency-magnitude linear relationships, thus enabling b-value analysis. The average b-value for micro-aflershocks of M1.5-4 from July to December of 2008 in our local study region is about 0.88, similar to the b-value for all aftershocks ofM3.0-5.5 from May, 2008 to May, 2009 along the whole Longmenshan fault zone. The similarity between the local and regional b-values possibly indicates that the southern part of the Longmenshan fault zone has similar seismogenic environment to the whole Longmenshan fault zone. Alternatively, it may also imply that b-values derived from all events without consideration of structural variation can not discriminate local-scale tectonic information. The present study shows that the b-value for the Wenchuan earthquake micro-aftershocks varies with different regions. The b-value in southwest of the Yingxiu town is higher than that in the northeast of the Yingxiu town. The high b-value in the southwest part where the Wenchuan earthquake main shock hypocenter located indicates that the current stress around the hypocenter region is much lower than its surrounding area. The b-values are also dependent on depth. At shallow depths of 〈5 km, the b-values are very small （-0.4）, possibly being related to strong wave attenuation or strong heterogeneity in shallow layers with high content of porosity and fractures. At depths of-5-11 km, where most aftershocks concentrated, the b-values become as high as -0.9-1.0. At the depth below -11 km, the b-values decrease with the depth increasing, being consistent with increasing tectonic homogeneity and increasing stress with depth.

New insights of the Cenozoic Rotational Deformation of Crustal Blocks on the Southeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its Tectonic Implications

Objective The lateral extrusion of southeastern edge of the crustal materials around the Tibetan Plateau since the Oligocene is believed to be one of the main inducements of-1300 km latitudinal crustal convergence in the Tibetan Plateau, since the collision of India and Eurasia in the Paleogene. Two end-member models were used to describe the process of lateral extrusion of crustal material on the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The ＂tectonic escape＂ model suggests the Indochina Block, Chuandian Fragment and Shan-Thai Block have experienced lateral extrusion along strike-slip fault systems, and the ＂crustal flow＂ model suggests that the upper crust has undergone southeastward escape in the form of ductile deformation, driven by viscous lower crustal flow channels. In addition, the GPS observations surrounding the Tibetan Plateau indicate that crustal materials currently experience clockwise rotation around the Eastern Himalaya syntaxis. This work conducted paleomagnetic studies in the Cretaceous and Paleogene red-beds along the southeastern margin of Tibetan Plateau,

The Carboniferous at the Northern Foot of the Dabie Mountains and Its Tectonic Implications

In the Qinling orogenic belt. oceanic crust originated in the Early Palaeozoic. while the product of conti-nental collision appeared as late as after the Triassic. The Late Palaeozoic records there are of major impor-tance for understanding the tectonic regime at that time. The Carboniferous and even Permian sequences andthe distribution of sedimentary facies in northern Huaiyang indicate that the rocks were formed in a large basinopening towards the south. Regional stratigraphic correlation shows that the interior of the Qinling orogenicbelt was a sea trough lying between the Yangtze and North China plates in the middle part of the LatePalaeozoic. With subsequent northward migration of the South China Sea, the two seas were connected witheach other. Both the melanges and the Dabie block ia the eastern sector of the Qinling belt were formed in theMesozoic ?.

Morphological characteristics in the area off eastern Taiwan Island and their tectonic implications

On the basis of bathymetric data and other geological and geophysical data obtained during the first survey conducted by Chinese Mainland in the area off eastern Taiwan Island from May to June in 2000, the morphological features of the region, the tectonic control to the seafloor topography and their tectonic implication are studied and discussed. The results have revealed that both the slope zone of the Ryukyu arc and the Ryukyu Trench present a typical morphotectonic characteristics controlled by the trench-arc system in the West Pacific Ocean. At the slope of eastern Taiwan Island the isobathic lines parallel to the coastline and distribute densely in nearly N-S direction and the slope gradient of topography is large. Such a unique feature is attributed to the collision of the Luzon arc and Eurasia continent. In the Huatung Basin, turbidity fans and submarine canyons are well developed, the formations of which are mainly related to the steep topography of the slope of the Luzon arc and the abundant supply of sediments. These submarine canyons are controlled by basement highs and strike-slip faults. On eastern side and western side of the Gagua Ridge, both the water depth and morphological features are different, but the basement of Gagua Ridge belongs to the Huatung Basin. The eastern side of the Gagua Ridge (123°12′E) corresponds to the boundary of two plates with different ages. In the West Philippine Basin, linear ridges and troughs in a NW trending are identified, which are dissected by a NE trending transform fault. According to the seafloor topography features, the direction of the transform fault and the magnetic anomaly lineations, the seafloor of this region was formed during 60-45 Ma B. P. when the West Philippine Basin was spreading along NE-SW relative to the present orientation.

The Discovery of Deep High-Resistivity Block and Inadequately Consolidated Magma Chambers in Gaoligongshan Oblique Collisional Orogen and its Tectonic Implications

Objective The Gaoligongshan oblique collisional orogen is located in the southern section of the Hengduan Mountains, and belongs to one of the main Late Yanshanian-Himalayan oblique collisional orogens in the Sanjiang area. Many researchers have studied the geology, geochemistry and geophysics of this region, and many research achievements have been obtained from deep geophysical exploration of the region, especially using the magnetotelluric （MT） sounding technique. However,

Tectonic Implications of the Combined Use of Tectonomagmatic Geochemical Discrimination Diagrams and Indicators of Magma Flow Sense in Mafic Dykes

Geochemistry is a powerful tool to help characterize the tectonic setting of igneous rocks associations.However,when continental mafic dykes and flood basalts are the target most of the proposed geochemical discrimination diagrams fail to correctly classify them,i.e.many mafic

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.

Multiple Phases of Mafic Magmatism in Gyangze-Kangma Area: Implications for the Tectonic Evolution of Eastern Tethyan Himalaya

A number of E-W trending subparallel mafic dikes of diabase composition occurred in Gyangze-Kangma area,eastern Tethyan Himalaya,southern Tibet.They intruded into the Tethyan Himalaya sedimentary sequence.Whether they belong to the;32 Ma Comei LIP（Zhu et al.,2009）or

Nature of Three Episodes of Magmatism(2181 Ma, 2115 Ma and 1891 Ma) in the Liaohe Rift of North China: Implications for Tectonic Evolution

To define a tectonic environment switching from rifting to subduction and their respective duration time are usually largely debated.Such case occurs for the Liaohe rift:whether it went through a long subduction from 2100to 1850 Ma or there were two different events in different

Detrital Zircon U-Pb Geochronology of the Xilin Group: Constraints for the Early Paleozoic Tectonic Evolution of the Songliao Massif

The Xilin Group, composed of the Chenming, Laodaomiaogou, Qianshan and Wuxingzhen formations, is one of the Early Paleozoic terranes in the eastern Songliao Massif, mainly consisting of thick layers of fine clastic and carbonate rocks. This study presents LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb geochronological data for the Laodaomiaogou and Qianshan formations, further constraining their provenance and the Early Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the Songliao Massif on the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Most zircons from the Laodaomiaogou and Qianshan formations show magmatic oscillatory zoning and high Th/U ratios(0.26–2.41). Zircon U-Pb dating results indicate that the detrital zircons from the silty mudstone of the Laodaomiaogou Formation yield peak ages of 634 Ma, 775 Ma, 820 Ma, 880 Ma and 927 Ma, as well as multi-episodic Archean to Paleoproterozoic and Mesoproterozoic ages(1405–643 Ma), implying its deposition time is younger than ~634 Ma. Furthermore, the occurrence of Early Cambrian fossils indicates that the Laodaomiaogou Formation was deposited during the late stage of the Early Cambrian(~514 Ma). The zircons from the K-bentonite of the Qianshan Formation show four peak ages of 444 Ma, 471 Ma, 489 Ma and 518 Ma and the youngest age peak of 444 ± 4 Ma(n = 6) indicates that the Qianshan Formation was deposited during the Late Ordovician. In addition, the peak ages of the detrital zircons in the silty mudstone of the Qianshan Formation are 472 Ma and 498 Ma, as well as two other concordant points with;Pb/;Pb apparent ages of 1824 Ma and 1985 Ma. The dating results in this study, together with published data, indicate the absence of Pan-African magmatic events in the Songliao Massif prior to the initial deposition of the Xilin Group, in contrast to those distributed widely in the Jiamusi Massif. Taken together, we conclude that the depositional provenance of the Laodaomiaogou and Qianshan formations was derived from the Songliao Massif. Furthermore, the characteristics of the detrital zircon age composition and rock associations indicate that the Laodaomiaogou Formation formed in a passive continental margin environment, in contrast to the Qianshan Formation, which formed in an active continental margin environment. The above results also imply that the Songliao and Jiamusi massifs might not have collided before the Late Ordovician.

Geochronology and Geochemistry of Middle–Late Ordovician Granites and Gabbros in the Erguna Region,NE China:Implications for the Tectonic Evolution of the Erguna Massif

Zircon U-Pb ages, Hf isotope data and whole-rock major and trace element data for the Middle to Late Ordovician gabbros and granites in the Erguna Massif, NE China were presented in this paper. The petrogenesis of these rocks and the Early Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the massif were discussed. Zircons from the granites and gabbros are of magmatic origin based on their cathodoluminescence（CL） images. The 206Pb/238 U ages obtained from 20 spots on zircons from the granites range from 446±9 to 464±10 Ma, yielding a weighted mean age of 455±10 Ma; and 16 spots on zircons from the gabbros range from 465±10 to 466±7 Ma, yielding a weighted mean age of 465±2 Ma. Chemically, the Late Ordovician granites in the Erguna Massif are weakly peraluminous and similar to A-type granites. The granites and gabbros are all enriched in light rare earth elements and large ion lithophile elements（e.g., Rb, K）, and depleted in heavy rare earth elements and high field strength elements（e.g., Nb, Ta, and Ti）; they all exhibit marked negative Eu anomalies. Their zircon εHf（t） values range mainly from ＋1.86 to ＋6.21（for the granites） and ＋1.39 to ＋3.89（for the gabbros）, except for one spot with a value of-0.27（for a gabbro）. The TDM1 ages for the gabbros and TDM2 ages for the granites vary from 928 to 1 091 Ma and from 1 287 to 1 675 Ma, respectively. It is concluded that the primary magma of the granites could have been derived by partial melting of Mesoproterozoic newly accreted crustal material, whereas the primary magma of the gabbros originated by partial melting of a depleted mantle wedge that had been metasomatized by fluids derived from a subducted slab. These Middle-Late Ordovician granites and gabbros constitute a typical bimodal igneous rock association, implying an extensional environment that was probably related to the post-collisional development of the Erguna and Xing＇an massifs in the early Early Paleozoic.

Geochemistry and Zircon U-Pb and Hf Isotopes of Early Devonian Hardawu Granites in the Eastern Segment of the Ultrahigh-Pressure Metamorphic Belt, Northern Qaidam Basin

The Hardawu granites in the eastern segment of the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic belt,the northern Qaidam Basin,were studied by whole-rock major and trace elements and in-situ zircon U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotopes to discuss the petrogenesis and tectonic evolution.Geochronological results show that the granites have a crystallization age of 401±3 Ma,suggesting that they were formed in the Early Devonian.The granites have SiO2 contents of 75.32 wt.%-76.05 wt.%,total alkali contents of 8.23 wt.%-8.36 wt.%,and K2O/Na2O ratios of 1.62-1.91.They were rich in K2O,poor in TiO2,MnO,MgO,and P2O5,and have A/CNK values of 1.05-1.07,Rittmann indexδvalues of 2.05-2.14,and differentiation index(DI)values of 92.85-94.18.They are high potassium calc-alkaline,weakperaluminum,and highly differentiated I-type granites.The granites also show enrichment of large ion lithophile elements(LILE)such as Rb,Ba,and Th,and depletion of high field strength elements(HFSE)such as Nb,Ta,and Ti.The total REE concentrations range from 169 ppm to 232 ppm,with enrichments of light rare earth elements and negative Eu anomalies(δEu=0.39-0.55).The zirconεHf(t)values range from-0.65 to-2.29,and the two-stage model ages(tDM2)changed within a small range of 1.44 to 1.54 Ga,indicating that the magma of the Hardawu granites was originated from the partial melting of Mesoproterozoic lower crustal materials.Combined with previous studies,we suggest that the Hardawu granites were formed in the extensional tectonic setting after the collision between the Qaidam Block and the central and southern Qilian Block in the Early Devonian.

Paleogene marine deposition records of rifting and breakup of the South China Sea:An overview

A compilation of available marine deposition data from offshore S-SE China reveals evidence of rifting and breakup of the South China Sea(SCS) during the Paleogene. Marine deposition started earlier in the Paleocene in the East China Sea(ECS)-Taiwan region before expanding southwestward into the SCS region in the middle Eocene. Our data indicate the existence of an elongated Paleogene China Sea in these areas stretching along the northeasterly structural belts, probably as part of the marginal western paleo-Pacific. The southwestward shift of marine influence in the middle Eocene was responding to a period of intensive rifting and subsidence in the SCS region, while the sea in the ECS-Taiwan region started to shrink and shoal after the late Eocene, likely associated with local breakup and initial spreading in the Taiwan-Taixinan Basin area. The accumulation of hemipelagic sediments at ODP 1148 and IODP U1435 from near the continent-ocean boundary and at many other shelf-slope sites was in response to a large-scale breakup 34 to 33 Ma ago, subsequently leading to the birth of the SCS in the Oligocene.