ABSTRACT Accumulating sediments is an inherent attribute of endorheic basins. Overall aggradational stratigraphic architecture can be predicted in endorheic basins, whereas the offlap process can be regarded as an important geological indicator in closed basins. This study theoretically proposes the possible offlap process in endorheic basins, and then explores the actual pattern of the offlap process

ABSTRACT The Dahongliutan rare-metal pegmatite deposit, associated with the pegmatite dikes hosted by Dahongliutan pluton and metasedimentary rocks, is a new discovered Li–Be deposit in the the West Kunlun orogen, Northwest China. The Dahongliutan pegmatite is a classic and typical example of a highly fractionated Li-Ce-Ta (LCT) type pegmatite, with distinct regional zonation composed of well-developed

ABSTRACT The Marivan granitoid body of the northern Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone (N-SaSZ) of northwest Iran was emplaced into Cretaceous sediments, and is associated with minor amounts of iron skarn-type mineralization along the contact between the intrusion and surrounding country rocks. The granitoids within the intrusion include (hornblende-rich) diorite, granodiorite, and granite phases, and zircon U–Pb

ABSTRACT The consumption of the Changning–Menglian Palaeo-Tethys ocean in the Triassic formed the Lincang granitic batholith in the southwestern China, once the oceanic supra-subduction zone. The batholith provides us a critical window to understand the nature of the crustal basements and the process of Palaeo-Tethyan termination. Here we report zircon U-Pb ages and Hf isotopes, and whole-rock elements

ABSTRACT Titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Hf), vanadium (V), garnet, and rare earth elements (REO) and their associated minerals are essential for modern society. Despite this, comprehensive public understanding of Ti and Zr resources and reserves (including garnet, Hf contained in zircon, V in titanomagnetite, and REO contained in co/by-product monazite) has been limited.This has led to uncertainty

ABSTRACT Cadomian (Ediacaran–Cambrian) magmatic rocks have been reported in the eastern (e.g. the Çatalca and İhsaniye plutons) and western (e.g. the Binkılıç and Safaalan plutons) parts of the Istranca (Strandja) Massif. This paper aims to investigate the tectonic setting and the magma evolution history of the Cadomian magmatic rocks using both new and previously existing geochemical and geochronological

ABSTRACT Massive, boudinaged, rose-coloured layers up to one metre in thickness composed of 60–80 vol% spessartine-rich garnet and 15–40 vol% quartz occur in high-pressure, garnet-mica schist on Margarita Island, Venezuela. In the past, such spessartine-garnet-rich rocks have often, although inaccurately, been called ‘coticule’. Apatite can be significant, reaching 20 vol%. Accessory minerals are allanite

ABSTRACT In the Aegean region (Cyclades – Greece), a large part of the Island of Anafi consists of exhumed high-grade metamorphic sequences (amphibolites, serpentinites and metasediments) that have been intruded by Late Cretaceous intermediate and felsic granitoids. These correspond to I-type arc-related rocks, displaying calc-alkaline geochemical affinities. Variability in their petrographic features

ABSTRACT Poly-metamorphism has been observed in many Precambrian metamorphic terranes. The metamorphic overprinting in the poly-metamorphic rocks makes it difficult to determine the timing and P − T path of each metamorphic event. In this study, in situ U–Pb dating of zircon, xenotime, and monazite, with simultaneously determination of trace element compositions, is utilized to provide new constraints

ABSTRACT The voluminous Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic magmatic rocks in the southern Gangdese belt of Tibet have received wide attention in tracing the subduction history of the Yarlung-Zangbo Neo-Tethys Ocean (YZNTO) and Bangong-Nujiang Tethys Ocean (BNTO). Here we report a suite of volcanic rocks from the Gangdese arc belt and present results from petrological, geochemical and zircon U-Pb-Lu-Hf

ABSTRACT The geological evolution of the Proto-Tethys Ocean remains vague. The Tianshuihai Terrane (TSHT), a subterrane of the West Kunlun, distributed to the south of the Proto-Tethys Ocean during the Early Palaeozoic, records abundant information on the geological evolution of the Proto-Tethys Ocean. In this study, we reported SHRIMP and LA-ICP-MS zircon U–Pb ages, whole-rock major and trace element

ABSTRACT A relatively complete trench–arc–basin system developed on the northern margin of the Proto-Tethys Ocean, and its subduction mode is key in reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the northern Proto-Tethyan margin. The Erlangping Group in the East Qinling Mountains is thought to be the product of subduction in the back-arc basin. Analysis of the metamorphism and deformation recorded by the

ABSTRACT During Neoproterozoic global climate changed drastically and associated glacial deposits have been found worldwide. However, there are few such records at the southern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), limiting the comparison of the glacial deposits with other parts of the world. In this study, five sections of the Neoproterozoic Luoquan Formation were investigated in a systematic field

ABSTRACT To investigate the differences in east-west lithospheric deformation in the Qaidam Basin, we present thermo-rheological models of two profiles across the western Qaidam Basin (WQB) and eastern Qaidam Basin (EQB). The differences in east-west geodynamic deformation styles are also described, involving GPS motions, focal mechanisms (P axes), seismic anisotropy (SKS-wave splitting), and low-velocity

ABSTRACT The Palaeozoic mafic-ultramafic complexes hosting Ni-Cu-Co mineralization occurred discontinuously and coexisted with early Palaeozoic eclogites in the East Kunlun orogenic belt (EKOB), western China. The giant Xiarihamu Cu-Ni-Co sulphide deposit in the EKOB is the largest Cu-Ni-Co sulphide deposit in an orogenic setting in the world. Early Palaeozoic eclogites are distributed as a belt for

ABSTRACT The Sinemurian Marifil Volcanic Complex at Sierra de Pailemán, located in the east part of the North Patagonian Region, Argentina, includes five lithofacies and three volcanic events. The volcanic activity begins with subaerial pyroclastic-fall deposits, massive lapilli tuffs with eutaxitic textures, and subaerial silicic domes’ emplacement. The upper part of the sequence is formed by pyroclastic

ABSTRACT The late Mesozoic tectonic domain of Southeast China transitioned from compression to extension because of the Paleo-Pacific plate rollback. However, the precise timing of the initiation of extensional tectonics remains unclear. This work focuses on the E–W-trending granite belt and the growth strata of Early Cretaceous red beds in Southeast China to establish the extensional tectonic model

ABSTRACT The Xolapa Complex of southern Mexico preserves evidence of its connection with the Chortís Block of Central America. Orthogneisses yielded U-Pb protolith ages from 172 to 169 Ma and paramigmatites are dated at 217 Ma. El Salitre and the Amatlán granitoids show crystallization ages of 65 and 59–57 Ma, respectively. In central Xolapa, diatexites have ages from 38 to 31 Ma, and granites were

ABSTRACT Rocks from subvolcanic silicic magmatism (SSM) are exposed intermittently over a wide area along the Sonora coast, NW Mexico. This region is characterized by syn-rift volcanism related to the development of the Pacific-North America transform plate boundary during the Late Miocene (~12.5-~6 Ma). The ca. 11 Ma U-Pb age obtained from the SSM in the study area makes this magmatism part of the

ABSTRACT The Yugusayi mafic-ultramafic complex, located in the Qimantagh area, East Kunlun orogenic belt, consists of harzburgite, olivine orthopyroxenite, hornblende pyroxenite, and hornblende gabbro, which were once considered to be a part of the Early Palaeozoic ophiolite suite. However, the Yugusayi mafic-ultramafic rocks are characterized by thermal emplacement, accompanied by Cu-Ni sulphide mineralization

ABSTRACT Triassic magmatism in Northeast (NE) China was geodynamically controlled by the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean (MOO), Palaeo-Asian Ocean (PAO), and Palaeo-Pacific Ocean (PPO) tectonic regimes. To define the mechanisms of crustal accretion and geodynamics, the magmatic processes generated by ocean closure and plate subduction must be determined. In the present study, we assembled geochronological, geochemical

ABSTRACT The Triassic igneous complexes in the east flank of the East Kunlun orogenic belt (E-KOB) provide a window through which to investigate the Mesozoic magmatism in the E-KOB. Here, we report the precise timing of Triassic magmatism and magma petrogenesis of different rock types in the east flank of the E-KOB based on the petrology, mineral chemistry, geochemistry, zircon geochronology and Lu-Hf

ABSTRACT There is a broad consensus that subduction of the Paleo-Pacific oceanic plate has caused extensive magmatism, lithospheric deformation, and metal mineralization in the eastern margin of the Eurasian continent during the Late Mesozoic. However, the onset and extent of subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Ocean, especially the timing of the transition in tectonic regime from the Paleo-Asian Ocean

ABSTRACT The Sulu ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) belt has been proven to form by deep northward subduction of the Yangtze Block (YB) beneath the North China Block (NCB) in the Triassic. The basement rocks originated from the YB and experienced Triassic UHP metamorphism. In this contribution, we identify for the first time tens of non-UHP metasedimentary blocks enclosed in the regional UHP granitic gneiss

ABSTRACT The West Kunlun orogenic belt (WKOB) is a complex orogenic belt that preserves the evidence of Early Palaeozoic and Late Palaeozoic orogenic events, with the former resulting from the closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean. To better reveal the relationships between Early Palaeozoic granitoids in the WKOB and the tectonic evolution of the Proto-Tethys Ocean, we analysed the rocks of Akedala pluton

ABSTRACT Late Carboniferous to Permian granitoids in South Mongolia records the processes from collision to post-orogenic extension for the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Systematic geochemical (major, trace elements, and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope) and geochronological (zircon U-Pb age) analyses on granitoids provide constraints on the post-subduction processes of the CAOB in South Mongolia. Based

ABSTRACT The subduction process of the Paleo-Tethyan Ocean is still under controversy. We report zircon U-Pb ages and geochemistry (major and trace elements, and Hf isotopic compositions) for the Xiangjiananshan granitic plutons in the eastern segment of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt, northern Tibetan Plateau, to constrain the subduction-related granitoids in its petrogenesis and to reconstruct the

ABSTRACT The subduction process of the Paleo-Tethyan Ocean is still under controversy. We report zircon U-Pb ages and geochemistry (major and trace elements, and Hf isotopic compositions) for the Xiangjiananshan granitic plutons in the eastern segment of the East Kunlun Orogenic Belt, northern Tibetan Plateau, to constrain the subduction-related granitoids in its petrogenesis and to reconstruct the

ABSTRACT This work describes the petrogenesis of in situ and in-source trondhjemite leucosomes generated by low-degree partial melting of the Jurassic Cheshmeh-Ghasaban hornblende-gabbros in the northern Alvand batholith (Hamedan, NW Iran). These leucosomes occur in a metatexite migmatite as patches, net-structures, veinlets, and dikes at scales ranging from a few millimetres to a few metres. They

ABSTRACT Several plutonic bodies are distributed along the northern and eastern margins of the Mesa Central province, intruding mainly clastic and carbonate sedimentary sequences from the Triassic and Cretaceous. In this work, U-Pb ages in zircon and apatite have been obtained using the LA-ICPMS technique in samples from six of these plutons and some possibly related volcanic rocks. In general, intrusive

ABSTRACT Proterozoic to lower Palaeozoic metamorphic sequences are exposed in southern Mexico providing an important geological record for Rodinia and northwestern Gondwana reconstructions. The Sierra de Juárez Complex (SJC) is an enigmatic basement block in southern Mexico that recorded Jurassic dextral strike-slip mylonitic deformation, likely instigated by Pangea break-up and opening of the Gulf

ABSTRACT Although voluminous Jurassic ophiolites have been reported along the Bangong–Nujiang Suture Zone (BNSZ), the tectonic setting of ophiolites and the Jurassic evolution history of the Meso-Tethys Ocean remain mysterious. This study presents petrological, geochronological and geochemical data for newly discovered Jurassic ophiolitic complex in the Asa area, the Shiquanhe–Namco Ophiolite sub-belt

ABSTRACT The Alpine–Himalayan collision zone involves a number of crustal fragments that originated in the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian Avalonian–Cadomian belt of northern Gondwana. We use the detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology to examine four of these lithotectonic units, now exposed in the Balkans in Bulgaria and Serbia. The obtained age spectra suggest that the Diabase–Phyllitoid Complex (the maximum

ABSTRACT Timing of magmatic activity of the late-Variscan Altenberg–Teplice Caldera was rather vaguely constrained. In this paper, we present five new laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICP–MS) U–Pb zircon ages, which along with published data indicate ~13 Myr lifetime. Formation of the Altenberg–Teplice Caldera commenced with the emplacement of the pre-caldera pluton at

ABSTRACT Garnets show wide ranges of chemical compositions and are key minerals for reconstructing the thermodynamic evolution of metamorphic terranes. The properties of garnets – including Mohs hardness ~7, lack of cleavage, vitreous luster and multiple colors – also makes them useful as semi-gemstones. Garnets are widespread accessory minerals in igneous and metamorphic rocks of western and southern

ABSTRACT We present new emplacement constrains for the Biella pluton within the eclogitic Sesia-Lanzo Zone, western Austroalpine domain. This zone, with the autochthon andesitic cover, is separated from the Southalpine Ivrea Zone by the western Periadriatic Line. Thermobarometry indicates 710 and 750°C, and 0.9 and 2.3 kbar for the final pluton emplacement that accomplished at depths between 3 and

ABSTRACT This paper describes a study of the lower Jurassic conglomerates in the region around Lake Baikal (Irkutsk and Chita Oblasts, Buryat Republic). The approach used in the study was the analysis of samples from well cores, outcrops, and mine workings. Lithological and geochemical analyses of the conglomerate’s matrices suggest that the conglomerates were deposited in a single early Jurassic river

ABSTRACT The North China Craton (NCC), which underwent multiple subduction and lithospheric destruction during the Mesozoic, is well known for hosting some of the world-class gold deposits. In many cases, Mesozoic mafic dykes are associated with the gold deposits, although there has been no systematic studies aimed to integrate the characteristics of these dykes in different regions of the NCC. Here

ABSTRACT A-type granites are conventionally interpreted to be formed in late post-collisional or anorogenic settings. However, we firstly identified an Early Jurassic syn-collisional A-type granite suite in the Qinling orogenic belt: the Baoji granite suite. A comprehensive investigation into its mineralogical, petrological, geochronological, and geochemical characteristics can shed light on the genesis

ABSTRACT Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic rocks of the Mérida Massif (SW Iberia) have been grouped into tectonostratigraphic units. Each unit is separated from the rest ones by either crustal-scale thrusts and/or extensional detachments. The lowermost unit (Magdalena Gneisses; lower plate) has continental crust affinity, and rest below a mafic-ultramafic ensemble, referred to as the Mérida Ophiolite (suture

ABSTRACT Newly discovered early Palaeozoic intraplate volcanic rocks within the southern Kunlun Orogen provide an opportunity to examine the middle to late Silurian tectonic setting of this area. This study presents new whole-rock geochemical and zircon U–Pb geochronological and Lu–Hf isotope data for the Silurian volcanic rocks of the Wanbaogou area, South Kunlun Belt. These volcanic rocks are split

ABSTRACT Whether or not the Altyn Tagh terranes in northwest China were part of the Rodinia supercontinent is unclear due to the apparent absence of rift-related igneous rocks. We present U-Pb geochronology, mineral chemistry, whole-rock major and trace element and Sr-Nd isotope data for the Yapuqiasayi mafic dykes in the North Altyn Tagh. Zircon and baddeleyite from a mafic dyke sample yield indistinguishable

ABSTRACT The presence of metamorphic rocks along the North Patagonian Andes is well known. All these metamorphic rocks are intruded by plutonic igneous rocks of Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian ages. The geographic localization of these rocks in the same geological province led to a first approach to grouping them under the same lithostratigraphic unit (Colohuincul Complex). Later studies, based

ABSTRACT Composition, stratigraphic and structural position of Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous radiolarian-rich siliceous rocks and black shales are described within allochthonous lithotectonic complexes of the Koryak-Western Kamchatka orogenic belt of East Asia. Comparative lithological and stratigraphic analysis of sedimentary units exposed in imbricated tectonic slices over a distance of more than 1000

ABSTRACT Field observations, whole-rock geochemistry, mineral chemistry and zircon U-Pb dating results from microgranular mafic enclaves and their host syenite, Urumieh plutonic complex, NW Iran, show that the enclaves and host are coeval, genetically related and evolved by synchronous magma mixing–fractionation. Geochemically all belong to the shoshonitic series and probably originated from the same

ABSTRACT Granitoid intrusions of Zagros orogenic and metallogenic belt were mainly emplaced during the Jurassic-Cretaceous and Upper Eocene – Pliocene along the Sanandaj-Sirjan Zone (SaSZ) and Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic Arc (UDMA), respectively. The present work tried to answer the question of whether or not there are fundamental differences in magmatic systems of Mesozoic versus Cenozoic intrusions

ABSTRACT Late Mesozoic lithospheric extension in NE China resulted in the development of a large extensional province and widespread formation of volcanic-sedimentary basins. The Songliao Basin is the largest one and contains voluminous volcanic rocks composing the majority of the basin fill. This study focuses on two adjacent eruption cycles, the Huoshiling Formation (K1h) and the first member of

ABSTRACT Granitoids, an important part of the continental crust, are the direct and indelible evidence of the accretion and reworking process of the continental crust in different tectonic settings. Therefore, these early geodynamic mechanisms can be roughly reconstructed by analysing the geochemical characteristics of granitoids. In this study, the Permian–Triassic Granitoids widely distributed in

ABSTRACT Post-collisional K-rich magmatic rocks of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau provide important information for understanding the continental collision and uplift of this plateau during the Cenozoic. However, the source of these K-rich rocks is still debated, and limited investigations have been conducted in the western Kunlun Mountains (WKM) in the northwestern margin of the plateau. In this paper

ABSTRACT The growth mechanisms of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau are debated between models of Oligocene shortening and lateral extrusion of coherent crustal blocks versus Late Miocene flow of low-viscosity lower crust. To test these models, we examine brittle deformation of the north-striking Anninghe fault, which has been acting as a left-lateral strike-slip fault since Late Miocene time, using

ABSTRACT The Mid-Late Mesozoic magmatic arc in southern Qiangtang block was associated with the long-lasting subduction of the Bangong-Nujiang Tethyan and the subsequent Lhasa-Qiangtang collision. The detailed processes associated with the transition from oceanic lithosphere subduction to lithosphere delamination remain unclear. This paper reports zircon U-Pb age, major and trace element and Sr-Nd

ABSTRACT The mineral composition, whole-rock geochemistry, Sr–Nd isotopes, and in situ zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopes for mafic and intermediate-felsic volcanic rocks in the Sonid Youqi area were determined to unravel their petrogenesis and the Early Permian tectonic setting of the Solonker Zone, Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Zircon U–Pb ages suggested that these rocks formed in the Early Permian. The

ABSTRACT Two types of lherzolite xenoliths appear in the Cerro Gordo maar from the Cenozoic Calatrava volcanic field. Hydrous lherzolites (group-1) show a major proportion of metasomatic amphibole (>5 modal%), whereas group-2 lherzolites have only accessory amounts or an absence of amphibole. Group-1 lherzolites show a higher LREE-Ba-Sr-Th content in whole-rock composition compared to group-2 lherzolites

ABSTRACT Apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He ages from Carboniferous to Eocene siliciclastic rocks of the Istanbul Zone (NW Turkey) range from 220 to 46 Ma, and from 46 to 18 Ma, respectively. Apatite grains from the upper Cretaceous and Eocene volcaniclastic and siliciclastic formations yielded unreset fission-track ages (85 to 65 Ma), whereas the Lower Cretaceous siliciclastic rocks yielded both

ABSTRACT LA-ICP-MS U–Pb and Hf isotope analysis was conducted on zircons from the metamorphic unit of Omo Formation and a granodorite body of Tokunoshima in the Amami Islands, Southwest Japan. Zircons from dioritic gneiss (S9, S46) and pelitic schist (S99) yielded Paleoproterozoic upper intercept and Early Jurassic lower intercept ages. The positive εHf(t) values of the Paleoproterozoic zircons (between

ABSTRACT Ubiquitous pockmarks in continental margins are important to understand the tectonic and sedimentary history and flow activity of their host margins. The study of an extensive field of pockmarks in the South China Sea (SCS) is important both scientifically and economically, for the exploration of oil, gas, and gas hydrate resources and the prevention and control of marine geological disasters

ABSTRACT Stratigraphic, petrological and geophysical studies suggest that the Late Permian (~ 260 Ma) Emeishan Large Igneous Province in southern China may be formed by mantle plume activity. However, the plume impingement hypothesis remains controversial since interpretations based on volcano-stratigraphic analyses around plume induced domal uplift/inner zone suggest that the volcanism occurred under

ABSTRACT Whereas north of 33°S Devonian calcalkaline magmatism is notably absent, a Devonian arc is well developed to the south of 33°S. The Carrizalito, Pampa de los Avestruces, and Papagayos plutons are located in the Frontal Cordillera between 34° and 35°S. U-Pb zircon SHRIMP and LA-MC-ICP-MS data from the plutons yield Early Devonian ages of 389 ± 3 and 409 ± 3 for Carrizalito, 413 ± 2 Ma for Pampa

ABSTRACT Provenance analysis including sandstone modal compositions, heavy mineral assemblages, and LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating with in-situ Hf isotopic compositions of detrital zircons defines two types of Late Cretaceous-Eocene turbiditic sequences separated by the Siah Cheshmeh-Khoy-Misho-Tabriz Fault in the Azerbaijan Province, Northwest Iran: (1) Volcaniclastic turbidites to the southwest and (2) terrigenous

ABSTRACT Transform margins represent lithospheric plate boundaries with horizontal sliding of the oceanic plate, which in time and space replaced the subduction-related convergent margins. This happened due to the following: ridge-crest–trench intersection or ridge death along a continental margin (recent California and Baja California, Queen Charlotte–Northern Cordilleran, west of the Antarctic Peninsula