The Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift volcanic rocks occur in northwestern China as a large igneous province. Based on petrogeochemical data, the Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift basic lavas can...The Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift volcanic rocks occur in northwestern China as a large igneous province. Based on petrogeochemical data, the Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift basic lavas can be classified into two major magma types: (1) the low-Ti/Y type situated in the eastern-central Tianshan area, which exhibits low Ti/Y (<500), Ce/Yb (<15) and SiO2 (43-55%), and relatively high Fe2O3T (6.4-11.5%); (2) the high-Ti/Y type situated in the western Tianshan area, which has high Ti/Y (>500), Ce/Yb (>11) and SiO2 (49-55%), and relatively low Fe2O3T (5.8-7.8%). Elemental data suggest that chemical variations of the low-Ti/Y and high-Ti/Y lavas cannot be explained by fractional crystallization from a common parental magma. The Tianshan Carboniferous basic lavas originated most likely from an OIB-like asthenospheric mantle source (87Sr/86Sr(t) ≈ 0.703-0.705, eNd(0 = +4 to +7). The crustal contamination and continental lithospheric mantle have also contributed significantly to the formation of the basic lavas of the Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift. The silicic lavas were probably generated by partial melting of the crust. The data of this study show that spatial petrogeochemical variations exist in the Carboniferous post-collisional rift volcanics province in the Tianshan region. Occurrence of the thickest volcanics dominated by tholeiitic lavas may imply that the center of the mantle-melting anomaly (mantle plume) was in the eastern Tianshan area at that time. The basic volcanic magmas in the eastern Tianshan area were generated by a relatively high degree of partial melting of the mantle source around the spinel-garnet transition zone, whereas the alkaline basaltic lavas are of the dominant magma type in the western Tianshan area, which were generated by a low degree of partial melting of the mantle source within the stable garnet region, thus the basic lavas of the western Tianshan area might have resulted from relatively thick lithosphere and low geothermal gradient.展开更多
Based on GPS measurements conducted from 1992 to 2006, we present the current crustal movement velocity field for approximately 400 sites in the Tianshan Mountains and their adjacent areas, and estimate slip rates on ...Based on GPS measurements conducted from 1992 to 2006, we present the current crustal movement velocity field for approximately 400 sites in the Tianshan Mountains and their adjacent areas, and estimate slip rates on the major faults using a 2-D elastic dislocation model. Our studies show slip rates within the range of 1―4 mm/a on the NW-SE trending strike-slip faults (such as Talas-Fergana fault) in the Tianshan Mountains. We also found the slip rates on the approximately WE-SN trending gently-dipping detachment fault vary from 10―13 mm/a for the southwest Tianshan Mountains to 2―5 mm/a for the eastern Tianshan Mountains, and to 6―12 mm/a for the Kyrgrz Tianshan. The GPS velocity field reveals that the total convergence is not uniformly distributed across the Tianshan Mountains, with 80%―90% of the N-S shortening absorbed along the southern and northern edges, and relatively little deformation accommodated within the interior. This first-order feature of strain pattern is explained best by underthrusting of adjacent blocks beneath the Tianshan Mountains along a basal detachment fault. We found the occurrence of historical M7―8 earthquakes somewhere in the locked ramp that connects the creeping and locking segments of the detachment, thereby resulting in elastic strain concentration and accumulation around it. The elastic strain confined in the upper crustal layer above the detachment ultimately releases through infrequent great earthquakes in the Tianshan Mountains, resulting in considerable folding and faulting at their margins. The Tianshan Mountains propagated outward and rose progressively as a wedge-shaped block.展开更多
文摘The Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift volcanic rocks occur in northwestern China as a large igneous province. Based on petrogeochemical data, the Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift basic lavas can be classified into two major magma types: (1) the low-Ti/Y type situated in the eastern-central Tianshan area, which exhibits low Ti/Y (<500), Ce/Yb (<15) and SiO2 (43-55%), and relatively high Fe2O3T (6.4-11.5%); (2) the high-Ti/Y type situated in the western Tianshan area, which has high Ti/Y (>500), Ce/Yb (>11) and SiO2 (49-55%), and relatively low Fe2O3T (5.8-7.8%). Elemental data suggest that chemical variations of the low-Ti/Y and high-Ti/Y lavas cannot be explained by fractional crystallization from a common parental magma. The Tianshan Carboniferous basic lavas originated most likely from an OIB-like asthenospheric mantle source (87Sr/86Sr(t) ≈ 0.703-0.705, eNd(0 = +4 to +7). The crustal contamination and continental lithospheric mantle have also contributed significantly to the formation of the basic lavas of the Tianshan Carboniferous post-collisional rift. The silicic lavas were probably generated by partial melting of the crust. The data of this study show that spatial petrogeochemical variations exist in the Carboniferous post-collisional rift volcanics province in the Tianshan region. Occurrence of the thickest volcanics dominated by tholeiitic lavas may imply that the center of the mantle-melting anomaly (mantle plume) was in the eastern Tianshan area at that time. The basic volcanic magmas in the eastern Tianshan area were generated by a relatively high degree of partial melting of the mantle source around the spinel-garnet transition zone, whereas the alkaline basaltic lavas are of the dominant magma type in the western Tianshan area, which were generated by a low degree of partial melting of the mantle source within the stable garnet region, thus the basic lavas of the western Tianshan area might have resulted from relatively thick lithosphere and low geothermal gradient.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40274007, 40774014) the Earthquake Research Fund (Grant No. 106007)
文摘Based on GPS measurements conducted from 1992 to 2006, we present the current crustal movement velocity field for approximately 400 sites in the Tianshan Mountains and their adjacent areas, and estimate slip rates on the major faults using a 2-D elastic dislocation model. Our studies show slip rates within the range of 1―4 mm/a on the NW-SE trending strike-slip faults (such as Talas-Fergana fault) in the Tianshan Mountains. We also found the slip rates on the approximately WE-SN trending gently-dipping detachment fault vary from 10―13 mm/a for the southwest Tianshan Mountains to 2―5 mm/a for the eastern Tianshan Mountains, and to 6―12 mm/a for the Kyrgrz Tianshan. The GPS velocity field reveals that the total convergence is not uniformly distributed across the Tianshan Mountains, with 80%―90% of the N-S shortening absorbed along the southern and northern edges, and relatively little deformation accommodated within the interior. This first-order feature of strain pattern is explained best by underthrusting of adjacent blocks beneath the Tianshan Mountains along a basal detachment fault. We found the occurrence of historical M7―8 earthquakes somewhere in the locked ramp that connects the creeping and locking segments of the detachment, thereby resulting in elastic strain concentration and accumulation around it. The elastic strain confined in the upper crustal layer above the detachment ultimately releases through infrequent great earthquakes in the Tianshan Mountains, resulting in considerable folding and faulting at their margins. The Tianshan Mountains propagated outward and rose progressively as a wedge-shaped block.
