Zircon U-Pb Ages and Geochemistry of Permo-Carboniferous Mafic Intrusions in the Xilinhot Area, Inner Mongolia: Constraints on the Northward Subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB) resulted from accretion during the Paleozoic subduction of the PaleoAsian Ocean. The Xilinhot area in Inner Mongolia is located in the northern subduction zone of the central-eastern CAOB and outcropped a large number of late Paleozoic mafic intrusions. The characteristics of magma source and tectonic setting of the mafic intrusions and their response to the closure process of the Paleo-Asian Ocean are still controversial. This study presents LA-ICPMS zircon U-Pb ages and geochemical features of mafic intrusions in the Xilinhot area to constrain the northward subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. The mafic intrusions consist of gabbro, hornblende gabbro, and diabase. Their intrusion times can be divided into three stages of 326-321 Ma, 276 Ma and 254 Ma by zircon U-Pb ages. The first two stages of the 326-276 Ma intrusions mostly originated from subduction-modified continental lithospheric mantle sources that underwent a variable degree partial melting(5-30%), recording the subduction of oceanic crust. The third stage of the 254 Ma mafic rocks also show arc-related features. The primary magma compositions calculated by PRIMELT2 modeling on three samples of ~326 Ma and two samples of ~254 Ma show that these mafic samples are characterized by a variable range in SiO2(47.51-51.47 wt%), Al2O3(11.46-15.55 wt%), ΣFeO(8.27-9.61 wt%), MgO(13.01-15.18 wt%) and CaO(9.13-11.67 wt%), consisting with the features between enriched mantle and lower continental crust. The source mantle melting of mafic intrusions occurred under temperatures of 1302-1351°C and pressures of 0.92-1.30 GPa. The magmatic processes occurred near the crust-mantle boundary at about 33-45 km underground. Combined with previous studies, it is concluded that Carboniferous to early Permian(~326-275 Ma) northward subduction of the Paleo-Asian oceanic crust led to the formation of the mafic magmatism in the Baolidao arc zone. The whole region had entered the collision environment at ~254 Ma, but with subduction-related environments locally. The final collision between the North China craton and the South Mongolian microcontinent may have lasted until ca. 230 Ma.

Detrital Zircon U-Pb Ages and Geochemistry of the Silurian to Permian Sedimentary Rocks in Central Inner Mongolia, China: Implications for Closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

The Solonker suture zone has long been considered to mark the location of the final disappearance of the PaleoAsian Ocean in the eastern Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB). However, the time of final suturing is still controversial with two main different proposals of late Permian to early Triassic, and late Devonian. This study reports integrated wholerock geochemistry and LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb ages of sedimentary rocks from the Silurian Xuniwusu Formation, the Devonian Xilingol Complex and the Permian Zhesi Formation in the Hegenshan-Xilinhot-Linxi area in central Inner Mongolia, China. The depositional environment, provenance and tectonic setting of the Silurian-Devonian and the Permian sediments are compared to constrain the tectonic evolution of the Solonker suture zone and its neighboring zones. The protoliths of the silty slates from the Xuniwusu Formation in the Baolidao zone belong to wacke and were derived from felsic igneous rocks with steady-state weathering, poor sorting and compositional immaturity. The protoliths of metasedimentary rocks from the Xilingol Complex were wackes and litharenites and were sourced from predominantly felsic igneous rocks with variable weathering conditions and moderate sorting. The Xuniwusu Formation and Xilingol Complex samples both have two groups of detrital zircon that peak at ca. 0.9-1.0 Ga and ca. 420-440 Ma, with maximum deposition ages of late Silurian and middle Devonian age, respectively. Considering the ca. 484-383 Ma volcanic arc in the Baolidao zone, the Xuxiniwu Formation represents an oceanic trench sediment and is covered by the sedimentary rocks in the Xilingol Complex that represents a continental slope sediment in front of the arc. The middle Permian Zhesi Formation metasandstones were derived from predominantly felsic igneous rocks and are texturally immature with very low degrees of rounding and sorting, indicating short transport and rapid burial. The Zhesi Formation in the Hegenshan zone has a main zircon age peak of 302 Ma and a subordinate peak of 423 Ma and was deposited in a back-arc basin with an early marine transgression during extension and a late marine regression during contraction. The formation also crops out locally in the Baolidao zone with a main zircon age peak of 467 Ma and a minor peak of 359 Ma, and suggests it formed as a marine transgression sedimentary sequence in a restricted extensional basin and followed by a marine regressive event. Two obvious zircon age peaks of 444 Ma and 280 Ma in the Solonker zone and 435 Ma and 274 Ma in Ondor Sum are retrieved from the Zhesi Formation. This suggests as a result of the gradual closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean a narrow ocean sedimentary environment with marine regressive sedimentary sequences occupied the Solonker and Ondor Sum zones during the middle Permian. A restricted ocean is suggested by the Permian strata in the Bainaimiao zone. Early Paleozoic subduction until ca. 381 Ma and renewed subduction during ca. 310-254 Ma accompanied by the opening and closure of a back-arc basin during ca. 298-269 Ma occurred in the northern accretionary zone. In contrast, the southern accretionary zone documented early Paleozoic subduction until ca. 400 Ma and a renewed subduction during ca. 298-246 Ma. The final closure of the Paleo-Asian ocean therefore lasted at least until the early Triassic and ended with the formation of the Solonker suture zone.

Geochemical evidences of trace metal anomalies for finding hydrocarbon microseepage in the petroliferous regions of the Tatipaka and Pasarlapudi areas of Krishna Godavari Basin,India

The long-term seepage of hydrocarbons, either as macroseepage or microseepage, can set up near-surface oxidation reduction zones that favor the development of a diverse array of chemical and mineralogical changes. The bacterial oxidation of light hydrocarbons can directly or indirectly bring about significant changes in the values of pH and Eh of the surrounding environment, thereby also changing the stability fields of the different mineral species present in that environment. The paper reports the role of hydrocarbon microseepage in surface alterations of trace metal concentrations. In this study trace metal alterations were mapped that appear to be associated with hydrocarbon microseepages in the oil/ gas fields. A total of 50 soil samples were collected near oil and gas fields of the Tatipaka and Pasarlapudi areas of the Krishna Godavari Basin, Andhra Pradesh. The soil samples were collected from a depth of 2-2.5 m. The paper reports the chemical alterations associated with trace metals in soils that are related to hydrocarbon microseepages above some of the major oil and gas fields of this petroliferous region. Trace metals, such as scandium （Sc）, vanadium （V）, chromium （Cr）, cobalt （Co）, nickel （Ni）, copper （Cu）, zinc （Zn）, barium （Ba） and strontium （Sr）, in soil samples were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma- mass spectrometry （ICP-MS）. The concentrations of Sc （8 to 40 mg/kg）, V （197 to 489 mg/kg）, Cr （106 to 287 mg/kg）, Co （31 to 52 mg/kg）, Ni （65 to 110 mg/kg）, Cu （88 to 131 mg/kg）, Zn （88 to 471 mg/kg）, Ba （263 to 3,091 mg/kg） and Sr （119 to 218 mg/kg） were obtained. It was observed that the concentrations of trace elements were tremendously increased when they were compared with their normal concentrations in soils. The analysis of adsorbed soil gas showed the presence of high concentrations of YC2＋ （C2H6, C3H8 and n-C4H10） ranging from 7 to 222 μg/kg respectively. Integrated studies of trace elements over adsorbed light gaseous hydrocarbons （2C2＋） anomalies showed good correlation with the existing oil and gas wells. The carbon isotopic composition of δ13C1 of the samples ranges between -36.6%o to -22.7‰ （Pee Dee Belemnite） values indicate thermogenic origin, which presents convincing evidence that the adsorbed soil gases collected from these sediments are of catagenetic origin. The increase in the concentrations of trace metals near oil/gas producing areas, suggests a soil chemical change to a reducing environment, presumably due to the influence of hydrocarbon microseepage, which could be applied with other geoscientific data to identify areas of future hydrocarbon exploration in frontier areas.

Experimental and modeling study of wettability alteration through seawater injection in limestone:a case study

Water flooding is widely applied for pressure maintenance or increasing the oil recovery of reservoirs.The heterogeneity and wettability of formation rocks strongly affect the oil recovery efficiency in carbonate reservoirs.During seawater injection in carbonate formations,the interactions between potential seawater ions and the carbonate rock at a high temperature can alter the wettability to a more water-wet condition.This paper studies the wettability of one of the Iranian carbonate reservoirs which has been under Persian Gulf seawater injection for more than 10 years.The wettability of the rock is determined by indirect contact angle measurement using Rise in Core technique.Further,the characterization of the rock surface is evaluated by molecular kinetic theory(MKT)modeling.The data obtained from experiments show that rocks are undergoing neutral wetting after the aging process.While the wettability of low permeable samples changes to be slightly water-wet,the wettability of the samples with higher permeability remains unchanged after soaking in seawater.Experimental data and MKT analysis indicate that wettability alteration of these carbonate rocks through prolonged seawater injection might be insignificant.

Petrology of Garnet Amphibolites from the Hualong Group: Implications for Metamorphic Evolution of the Qilian Orogen, NW China

The Qilian Orogen marks the junction of the North China, South China and Tarim cratons. The mechanism of continental growth during the formation of the orogen remains unclear. Based on detailed fieldwork, we present a systematic study of petrography, mineral chemistry and phase equilibria of garnet amphibolites from the Hualong Group, which represents the Precambrian basement in the southern accretionary belt of the Qilian Orogen. The garnet amphibolites mainly consist of amphibole, plagioclase, garnet and quartz, with minor pyroxene, biotite and ilmenite. A peak stage of upper amphibolite facies to low-temperature granulite facies metamorphism and retrograde metamorphism in the amphibolite facies affected the samples. Garnet has a homogeneous composition of Alm66-71Grs14-17Prp9_12Sps3-s, amphibole is ferro-hornblende, biotite belongs to the ferro-biotite species and pyroxene is dominated by orthopyroxene with few clinopyroxene. Pseudosection modeling of the garnet amphibolite samples indicates clockwise P-T paths. The samples witness peak metamorphism at conditions of -4.9-6.3 kbar and -755-820 ℃ in the upper amphibolite facies to low- temperature granulite facies, and retrograde cooling and decompression at conditions of-2.5-3.1 kbar and -325-545 ℃. It is inferred that peak metamorphism with high temperature and low pressure occurred at ca. 450 Ma during northward subduction of the South Qilian oceanic crust beneath the central Qilian Block. When continental collision occurred between the central Qilian and the Qaidam blocks, the Hualong Block was aecreted onto the South Qilian accretionary complex and experienced amphibolite facies retrograde metamorphism at ca. 440 Ma.

Metamorphic P-T Path Differences between the Two UHP Terranes of Sulu Orogen, Eastern China: Petrologic Comparison between Eclogites from Donghai and Rongcheng

The Sulu Orogen constitutes the eastern part of the Sulu-Dabie Orogen formed by Triassic collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze plates. An HP Slice Ⅰ and two UHP slices Ⅱ and Ⅲ with contrasting subduction and exhumation histories within the Sulu Orogen were postulated. This study presents the metamorphic P-T paths of eclogites from the two UHP belts constructed by petrog- raphy, mineral chemistry and Perple_X P-T pseudosection modeling in the MnC（K）NFMASHO system. Eclogites from Slice Ⅲ mainly consist of omphacite, garnet and quartz, with minor rutile, ilmenite, amphibole and phengite. Eclogites from Slice Ⅱ show a porphyroblastic texture with epidote porphyroblasts and garnet, omphacite, phengite, quartz and rutile in matrix. Pseudosection modeling reveals that eclogites from Slice Ⅱ witness a peak metamorphism of eclogite-facies under conditions of 3.1-3.3 GPa and 660-690 ℃, and a retrograde cooling decompression process. The eclogites from Slice Ⅲ record a heating decompressive P-T path with a peak-P stage of 3.2 GPa and 840℃ and a peak-T stage of 2.4 GPa and 950 ℃, suggesting an apparent granulite-facies metamorphism overprint during exhumation. Both eclogites recorded clockwise P-T paths with peak P-T conditions suggesting a subduction beneath the Sino-Korean Plate to -100-105 km depth. Combined with tectonic scenarios from previous studies, it is concluded that the two UHP crustal slices in the Sulu terrane have a similar geodynamic evolution, but the UHP rocks in Slice Ⅱ exhumed after the eclogitic peak-pressure conditions earlier than that of Slice Ⅲ. The existence of Slice Ⅱ diminished the buoyancy force on Slice Ⅲ, resulting in a granulite-facies overprint on Slice Ⅲ. The Sulu orogenic belt is made up of different crustal slices that underwent different subduction and exhumation histories, rather than a single unit.

Kinetics of FeSe_2 oxidation by ferric iron and its reactivity compared with FeS_2

The mobility and bioavailability of selenium is a major health and environmental issue and a main concern for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Chemically and/or microbially mediated oxidation of insoluble Se-bearing particulate, such as iron selenides, to dissolved and mobile phases controls the transport and distribution of Se in the environment. The oxidation of ferroselite(FeSe2) by ferric iron was investigated in anoxic conditions. The redox reaction can be represented by: FeSe2 + 2Fe3+ = 2Se0 + 3Fe2+. Kinetic studies indicated that the reaction can be described by second-order rate law, with rate constants of 0.49±0.01, 0.85±0.02, 1.84±0.04, and 3.29±0.13 L mol-1 s-1 at pH 1.62, 1.87, 2.23, and 2.49, respectively. The positive correlation between reaction rate and pH implies that diffusion of Fe3+ oxidant to the mineral surface is the rate-determining step. The strong reactivity of FeSe2 towards Fe3+ suggests that ferric iron may play a significant role in FeSe2 oxidation process(e.g., by Se4+, O2, etc.) and Se0 should be the first reaction product. Also, it was shown that the reduction rate of Fe3+ or Se4+ by pyrite(FeS2) can be significantly increased in the presence of FeSe2, suggesting a stronger reactivity of FeSe2 compared with pyrite. The results obtained extend our knowledge about the subtle interaction between Se, pyrite and iron selenides in the environment, and give insight into the transfer of selenium from iron selenides to bio-available selenium(i.e., selenite and selenate) in the Se-rich environment.