The Carboniferous-Early Permian rift-related volcanic successions, covering large areas in the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas, make up a newly recognized important Phanerozoic large igneous province in the wo...The Carboniferous-Early Permian rift-related volcanic successions, covering large areas in the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas, make up a newly recognized important Phanerozoic large igneous province in the world, which can be further divided into two sub-provinces： Tianshan and Tarim. The regional unconformity of Lower Carboniferous upon basement or pre-Carboniferous rocks, the ages （360--351 Ma） of the youngest ophiolite and the peak of subduction metamorphism of high pressure-low temperature metamorphic belt and the occurrence of Ni-Cu-bearing mafic-ultramafic intrusion with age of ~352 Ma and A-type granite with age of ~358 Ma reveal that the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean might take place in the Early Mississippian. Our summation shows that at least four criteria, being normally used to identify ancient asthenosphere upwelling （or mantle plumes）, are met for this large igneous province： （1） surface uplift prior to magmatism; （2） being associated with continental rifting and breakup events; （3） chemical characteristics of asthenosphere （or plume） derived basalts; （4） close links to large-scale mineralization and the uncontaminated basalts, being analogous to those of many ＂ore-bearing＂ large igneous provinces, display Sr-Nd isotopic variations between plume and EMI geochemical signatures, These suggest that a Carboniferous asthenosphere upwelling and an Early Permian plume played the central role in the generation of the Tianshan--Tarim （central Asia） large igneous province.展开更多
The effect of paleo-Pacific subduction on the geological evolution of the western Pacific and continental China is likely complex. Nevertheless, our analysis of the distribution of Mesozoic granitoids in the eastern c...The effect of paleo-Pacific subduction on the geological evolution of the western Pacific and continental China is likely complex. Nevertheless, our analysis of the distribution of Mesozoic granitoids in the eastern continental China in space and time has led us to an interesting conclusion： The basement of the continental shelf beneath East and South China Seas may actually be of exotic origin geologically unrelated to the continental lithosphere of eastern China. By accepting the notion that the Jurassic- Cretaceous granitoids in the region are genetically associated with western Pacific subduction and the concept that subduction may cease to continue only if the trench is being jammed, then the termination of the granitoid magmatism throughout the vast region at -88±2 Ma manifests the likelihood of ＂sudden＂, or shortly beforehand （- 100 Ma）, trench jam of the Mesozoic western Pacific subduction. Trench jam happens if the incoming ＂plate＂ or portion of the plate contains a sizeable mass that is too buoyant to subduct. The best candidate for such a buoyant and unsubductable mass is either an oceanic plateau or a micro-continent. We hypothesize that the basement of the Chinese continental shelf represents such an exotic, buoyant and unsubductable mass, rather than seaward extension of the continental lithosphere of eastern China. The locus of the jammed trench （i.e., the suture） is predictably located on the shelf in the vicinity of, and parallel to, the arc-curved coastal line of the southeast continental China. It is not straightforward to locate the locus in the northern section of the East China Sea shelf because of the more recent （〈20 Ma） tectonic re-organization associated with the opening of the Sea of Japan. We predict that the trench jam at - 100 Ma led to the re-orientation of the Pacific plate motion in the course of NNW direction as inferred from the age-progressive Emperor Seamount Chain of Hawaiian hotspot origin （its oldest unsubdued Meiji and Detroit seamounts are -82 M展开更多
Recent seismic studies reveal a sharp velocity drop mostly at^70–100 km depth within the thick mantle keel beneath cratons, termed the mid-lithosphere discontinuity(MLD). The common presence of the MLD in cratonic re...Recent seismic studies reveal a sharp velocity drop mostly at^70–100 km depth within the thick mantle keel beneath cratons, termed the mid-lithosphere discontinuity(MLD). The common presence of the MLD in cratonic regions indicates structural and property layering of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle(SCLM). The nature and origin of the MLD, and many issues associated with the layering of the SCLM are essential to understand the formation and evolution of continents, and have become frontier subjects in the Earth sciences.展开更多
基金benefited from financial supports by Land and Resources Survey Project of China(Grant Nos.1212010611804, 121201120133)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.40472044)
文摘The Carboniferous-Early Permian rift-related volcanic successions, covering large areas in the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas, make up a newly recognized important Phanerozoic large igneous province in the world, which can be further divided into two sub-provinces： Tianshan and Tarim. The regional unconformity of Lower Carboniferous upon basement or pre-Carboniferous rocks, the ages （360--351 Ma） of the youngest ophiolite and the peak of subduction metamorphism of high pressure-low temperature metamorphic belt and the occurrence of Ni-Cu-bearing mafic-ultramafic intrusion with age of ~352 Ma and A-type granite with age of ~358 Ma reveal that the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean might take place in the Early Mississippian. Our summation shows that at least four criteria, being normally used to identify ancient asthenosphere upwelling （or mantle plumes）, are met for this large igneous province： （1） surface uplift prior to magmatism; （2） being associated with continental rifting and breakup events; （3） chemical characteristics of asthenosphere （or plume） derived basalts; （4） close links to large-scale mineralization and the uncontaminated basalts, being analogous to those of many ＂ore-bearing＂ large igneous provinces, display Sr-Nd isotopic variations between plume and EMI geochemical signatures, These suggest that a Carboniferous asthenosphere upwelling and an Early Permian plume played the central role in the generation of the Tianshan--Tarim （central Asia） large igneous province.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41130314,91014003)Chinese Academy of Sciences Innovation(Y42217101L),grants from Regional and Local Authorities(Shandong Province and City of Qingdao)+1 种基金supported by National Oceanography Laboratory in Qingdaosupported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)
文摘The effect of paleo-Pacific subduction on the geological evolution of the western Pacific and continental China is likely complex. Nevertheless, our analysis of the distribution of Mesozoic granitoids in the eastern continental China in space and time has led us to an interesting conclusion： The basement of the continental shelf beneath East and South China Seas may actually be of exotic origin geologically unrelated to the continental lithosphere of eastern China. By accepting the notion that the Jurassic- Cretaceous granitoids in the region are genetically associated with western Pacific subduction and the concept that subduction may cease to continue only if the trench is being jammed, then the termination of the granitoid magmatism throughout the vast region at -88±2 Ma manifests the likelihood of ＂sudden＂, or shortly beforehand （- 100 Ma）, trench jam of the Mesozoic western Pacific subduction. Trench jam happens if the incoming ＂plate＂ or portion of the plate contains a sizeable mass that is too buoyant to subduct. The best candidate for such a buoyant and unsubductable mass is either an oceanic plateau or a micro-continent. We hypothesize that the basement of the Chinese continental shelf represents such an exotic, buoyant and unsubductable mass, rather than seaward extension of the continental lithosphere of eastern China. The locus of the jammed trench （i.e., the suture） is predictably located on the shelf in the vicinity of, and parallel to, the arc-curved coastal line of the southeast continental China. It is not straightforward to locate the locus in the northern section of the East China Sea shelf because of the more recent （〈20 Ma） tectonic re-organization associated with the opening of the Sea of Japan. We predict that the trench jam at - 100 Ma led to the re-orientation of the Pacific plate motion in the course of NNW direction as inferred from the age-progressive Emperor Seamount Chain of Hawaiian hotspot origin （its oldest unsubdued Meiji and Detroit seamounts are -82 M
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41225016, 41688103, 91414301)Chinese Academy of Sciences
文摘Recent seismic studies reveal a sharp velocity drop mostly at^70–100 km depth within the thick mantle keel beneath cratons, termed the mid-lithosphere discontinuity(MLD). The common presence of the MLD in cratonic regions indicates structural and property layering of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle(SCLM). The nature and origin of the MLD, and many issues associated with the layering of the SCLM are essential to understand the formation and evolution of continents, and have become frontier subjects in the Earth sciences.
