A Carbon Isotopic Stratigraphic Pattern of the Late Palaeozoic Coals in the North China Platform and Its Palaeoclimatic Implications

This paper gives the stable carbon isotopic data in coals from the Late Namurian to Kazanian stages in the Serteng Mt., Xishan and Huainan coalfields of the North China Platform. Its stratigraphic pattern shows that several isotopic shifts are apparent, and the large δ13C negative shifts (approximately 2.5 to 3.0 %%) occurred during the Stephanian, Artinskian and Kazanian are observed in three Permo-Carboniferous coalfields. Those negative shifts are neither related to the coal rank and coal macerals, nor caused by the variety of peat-forming plants. The general decrease in the δ13C values of the Stephanian, Artinskian and Kazanian coals is consistent with an overall decrease in the δ13C values of ambient atmospheric CO2 and/or a relative increase in atmospheric Pco2 during the coal-forming periods. Therefore the authors postulate that the oxidation of peat, and the δ13C-depleted CO2 flux into the atmosphere during the above stages may have contributed to coeval palaeoclimatic warming by way of the greenhouse effect.

Chronology,Geochemistry and Tectonic Settings of the Hadamiao Granodiorite on the Northern Margin of the North China Platform

The Hadamiao granodiorite,located on the northern margin of the North China platform and acting as the country rock of gold deposits in the Hadamiao region,was formed in the same age and similar tectonic settings with the Hadamiao gold deposit and the large-scale Bilihe gold deposit in the same area.By using the LA-ICP-MS method,the U-Pb age obtained is 267±1.3 Ma,which represents the crystallized age of the granodiorite,and that of the xenolithic zircon is 442.8±5 Ma. Base on the main elements,it exhibits the features of calc-alkaline to high-potassium calc-alkaline series,low silicon,and quasi-aluminous I-type granites,and with high magnesium（Mg~#=0.45-0.57） and high sodium contents（Na_2O/K_2O=0.98-2.29）.The SREE values（81.6-110.15 ppm） are relatively low,the fractionations between LREE and HREE are obvious,showing a right-inclined dispersion in the REE distribution diagram.Compared with the primitive mantle,the rock is relatively rich in LREE（La and Ce）,LILE（K,Sr,and Th）,and intensively depleted in HFSE（Ti,P,Nb and Ta）.The ratios of Sr/Y and（La/Yb）_N and the contents of Rb,Nb and Y are relatively low,the Sr values are high （436.35-567.26 ppm）,and the Yb contents of most samples are low（1.25-1.8）,which indicate the features of typical continental margin arc and adakitic rocks.According to the values ofε_（Nd）（t）（-2.4 to ＋0.2） and I_（Sr）（0.7028-0.7083）,and variations of the La/Sm ratios,the Hadamiao granodiorite was formed from mixing of the thickened molten lower crust and the mantle wedge substances.The rock was related to the southward subduction and accretion of the Paleo-Asia Ocean in the Late Paleozoic, being Late Paleozoic magma of the continental margin arc formed on the basement of the Early Paleozoic accretion complexes,and showing a trend of turning into adakitic rocks,which indicates their great metallogenic（Au） potential.

A New Fauna——Qinghezhen Fauna——from the Northern Margin of the North China Platform

In the Inner Mongolia axis and Jiaoliao anteclise along the northern margin of the North China Platform.it has been found that the strata formerly considered as Archaean and Proterozoic are in fact an ophiolite suitesimilar to the Early Palaeozoic Ondor Sum Group in the Northern Geosyncline region of China. The stratahave been named in northern Liaoning as the Qinghezhen Group. The emphasis of this paper is on the discus-sion of the simall shelly fossils found in the siliceous rocks in the upper part of the Qinghezhen Group. Thisophiolite suite stretches in an E-W direction for about 1000 km along the northern margin of the North ChinaPlatform. in which 15 fossil localities with stable stratigraphic horizons have been discovered. In this paper. 4types. 7 genera (including 5 new ones) and 10 species (including 8 new ones and 1 new subspecies) aredescribed, which are collectively referred to as the Qinghezhen Fauna. The characteristics of these fossils are:shell form simple. the maximum length not exceeding 4 mm. with obvious shell wall and wall ornaments. TheQinghezhen Fauna is comparable in shell structure of some genera and species with the Meishucun Fauna inSouth China, but differs from the latter in having only monotonous fossil groups developed in a distinctly va-ried ecological environment. The two faunas may belong to the same evolutionary stage of the Early Cambrianbut have developed parallelly in different regions. The existence of the Qinghezhen Fauna represents an impor-tant biological event in the Early Cambrian in the Northern Geosyncline region of China. The discovery of theQinghezhen Fauna will bring new knowledge and profound influence to a series of problems on basic geologyand mineral deposit prospecting such as the Cambrian faunas. biogeographical povincialism in China and thegeotectonic features of the northern margin of the North China Platform.

Hydrothermal Mineralization on the Mesoproterozoic Passive Continental Margins of China: A Case Study of the Langshan-Zha'ertaishan Belt,Inner Mongolia, China

Most ore-forming characteristics of the Langshan-Zha'ertaishan hydrothermal exhalation belt, which consists of the Dongshengmiao, Huogeqi, Tanyaokou and Jiashengpan large-superlarge Zn-Pb-Cu-Fe sulfide deposits, are most similar to those of Mesoproterozoic SEDEX-type provinces of the world. The characteristics include: (1) All deposits of this type in the belt occur in third-order fault-basins in the Langshan-Zha'ertaishan aulacogen along the northern margin of the North China Platform; (2) these deposits with all their orebodies hosted in the Mesoproterozoic impure dolomite-marble and carbonaceous phyllite (or schists) have an apparent stratabound nature; ores display laminated and banded structures, showing clear depositional features; (3) there is some evidence of syn-sedimentary faulting, which to a certain extent accounts for the temporal and spatial distribution and the size of the orebodies in all deposits and the formation of intrabed conglomerates and breccias; (4) they show lateral and vertical zonation of sulfides; (5) The Cu/(Pb+Zn+Cu) ratio of the large and thick Pb+Zn+Cu orebodies gradually decreases from bottom to top; and (6) barite is interbedded with pyrites and sometimes with sphalerite. However, some characteristics such as the Co/Ni radio of the pyrites, the volcanism, for example, of the Langshan-Zha'ertaishan metallogenic belt, are different from those of the typical SEDEX deposits of the world. The meta-basic volcanic rock in Huogeqi, the sodic bimodal volcanic rocks in the Dongshengmiao and potassic bimodal-volcanic rocks with blastoporphyritic and blasto-glomeroporphyritic texture as well as blasto-amygdaloidal structure in the Tanyaokou deposits have been discovered in the only ore-bearing second formation of the Langshan Group in the past 10 years. The metallogeny of some deposits hosted in the Langshan Group is closely related to syn-sedimentary volcanism based on the following facts: most of the lead isotopes in sphalerite, galena, pyrite, pyrrhotite and chalcopyrite plot on both sides of the line for the mantle or between the lines for the mantle and lower crust in the lead isotope composition diagram; cobalt content of some pyrites samples is much higher than the nickel content (Co/Ni=11.91-12.19). Some volcanic blocks and debris have been picked out from some pyritic and pyrrhotitic ores. All Zn-Pb-Cu-Fe sulfide orebodies in these deposits occur in the strata overlying metamorphic volcanic rocks in the only ore-bearing second formation. In the Jiashengpan deposit that lacks syn-sedimentary volcanic rocks in the host succession only Pb and Zn ores occur without Cu ore, but in the Dongshengmiao, Tanyaokou and Huogeqi deposits with syn-sedimentary volcanic rocks in the host succession Cu ores occur. This indicates a relatively higher ore-forming temperature. The process of syn-sedimentary volcanic eruption directly supplied some ore-forming elements, and resulted in secular geothermal anomaly favorable for the circulation of a submarine convective hydrothermal system, which accounts for the precipitation of deep mineralizing fluids exhaling into anoxidic basins along the syn-sedimentary fault system in the Langshan-Zha'ertai rift. The Dongshengmiao, Tanyaokou, and Huogeqi deposits hosted in the Langshan Group appear to be a transitional type of mineral deposit between SEDEX and VMS-types but with a bias towards SEDEX, while the Jiashengpan deposit hosted in the Zha'ertai Group is of a characteristic SEDEX type. This evidence, together with other new discoveries of Mesoproterozoic volcanic rocks and the features of lithogeny and metallogeny of the Bayun Obo deposit in the neighborhood emphasize the diversity, complexity and uniqueness of the Mesoproterozoic Langshan-Zha'ertai-Bayun Obo ore belt.