Paleo-fires and Atmospheric Oxygen Levels in the Latest Permian:Evidence from Maceral Compositions of Coals in Eastern Yunnan,Southern China

Inertinite maceral compositions of the Late Permian coals from three sections in the terrestrial and paralic settings of eastern Yunnan are analyzed in order to reveal the paleo-fire events and the atmospheric oxygen levels in the latest Permian. Although the macerals in the studied sections are generally dominated by vitrinite, the inertinite group makes up a considerable proportion. Its content increases upward from the beginning of the Late Permian to the coal seam near the Permian- Triassic boundary. Based on the microscopic features and the prevailing theory that inertinite is largely a by-product of paleo-fires, we suggest that the increasing upward trend of the inertinite abundance in the latest Permian could imply that the Late Permian peatland had suffered from frequent wildfires. Since ignition and burning depend on sufficient oxygen, a model-based calculation suggests that the 02 levels near the Wuchiapingian/Changhsingian boundary and the Permian-Triassic boundary are 27% and 28% respectively. This output adds supports to other discoveries made in the temporal marine and terrestrial sediments, and challenges the theories advocating hypoxia as a mechanism for the PermianTriassic boundary crisis.

Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of Late-Triassic high εNd(t)-εHf(t) granites in the Ailaoshan tectonic zone(SW China)

High εNd（t）-εHf（t） granites are robust evidence for crustal growth. In this paper we report results of petrologic, geochronological and geochemical investigations on the Huashiban granites from the Ailaoshan tectonic zone in western Yunnan （SW China）. Zircon grains separated from the two samples （10HH-119A and 10HH-120A） yield the weighted mean 206pb/238u ages of 229.9 ± 2.0 Ma and 229.3 ± 2.3 Ma, respectively, interpreted as the crystallization ages of the granites. Based on our results, in combination with the existing U-Pb geochronological data for the Ailaoshan metamorphic rocks, we propose that the Ai- laoshan Group might be a rock complex composed of the Mesoproterozoic, Neoproterozoic, Hercynian, Indosinian and Hima- layan components, rather than a part of the crystalline basement of the Yangtze block. The zircon grains show highly depleted Lu-Hf isotope compositions, with positive eHf（t） values ranging from 8.4 to 13.1. The Huashiban granites have high SiO2 （72.66 wt%-73.70 wt%）, low Mg# （0.28-0.34） with A/CNK=1.01-1.05, and can be classified as peralumious high-K calc-alkaline I-type granites. A synthesis of these data indicates that the Ailaoshan tectonic zone had evolved into a post-collisional setting by the Late-Triassic （229 Ma）. Genesis of the Huashiban high εNd（t）-εHf（t） granites involved into two processes： （1） underplating of the sub-arc mantle into the lower crust, and （2） remelting of the juvenile crustal materials in re- sponse to the upwelling of the asthenospheric mantle in the post-collisional setting.