International Geology Review

Morales‐Gamez, Miguel; Duncan Keppie, J.; Lee, James K. W.; Ortega‐Rivera, Amabel

doi: 10.1080/00206810802688659pmid: N/A

The Xayacatlán area (eastern Mixteca terrane, southern Mexico) was previously inferred to preserve the Ordovician‐Silurian thrust contact between vestiges of the Iapetus Ocean and the para‐autochthon bordering Oaxaquia. Detailed remapping indicates that the rocks occur in four vertically‐bounded, NS fault blocks. The latter record the following tectonothermal events that post‐date Iapetus and occurred along the margins of the Rheic (1) and Pacific (2 and 3) oceans: (1) dextral transtension accompanying intrusion of an NS, tholeiitic dike swarm at ∼442 Ma; (2) penetrative, greenschist‐facies deformation during the Mississippian related to extrusion of high‐pressure rocks; and (3) subgreenschist‐facies dextral transtension on NS faults during the generation of Middle Permian fabrics.

Yui, T. F.; Okamoto, K.; Usuki, T.; Lan, C. Y.; Chu, H. T.; Liou, J. G.

doi: 10.1080/00206810802636369pmid: N/A

To examine the tectonic history of the Taiwan segment of the eastern margin of South China, six rock samples from the Tailuko belt, the metamorphic basement of Taiwan, were selected for zircon SHRIMP dating. The aim was to identify evidence shedding light on the timing of the change from passive to active tectonics for this part of the continental margin since South China separated from the supercontinent of Rodinia. The results lead to two age groups, 190–200 and 88–90 Ma. These age groups, augmented by the previously published age data, suggest that they could have resulted from two Mesozoic accretion/subduction events. In addition, this mid‐late Mesozoic Tailuko belt might have also been reactivated and structurally complicated by the late Cenozoic collision/accretion of the Luzon arc with the Eurasian continent. Records of older tectonic events, such as those derived from the Japanese Islands, are absent in this metamorphic basement. An important finding of this study is the existence of the 191±10 Ma Talun metagranite, the oldest granitic intrusion ever reported in the Taiwan region and along the eastern coast area of South China. In spite of a large age uncertainty, the occurrence of this metagranite is not consistent with the apparent younging trend of Jurassic‐Cretaceous igneous activity toward the coastline in South China, and should be taken into consideration by future studies.

Gürbüz, Alper

doi: 10.1080/00206810802655963pmid: N/A

Due to northward subduction of Neotethys, the İstanbul zone collided with the Sakarya zone in northwest Turkey during the early Eocene. Subsequently, this region was subjected to compressional forces during the late Eocene–early Miocene period. Folds, thrusts and reverse faults developed approximately parallel to long axes of the İstanbul zone. NNW–SSE oriented conjugate strike‐slip faults developed with continued contraction. In addition to the orientations of palaeotectonic features, the morphotectonic, stratigraphic and seismic characteristics expose differences between the northeastern Marmara peneplain and the southern Black Sea highland. This study reports causes of this diversity reflecting the neotectonic evolution of the İstanbul zone. The diversity is related to the clockwise rotation of the Kocaeli peninsula between two dextral zone‐bounding faults and two sinistral block‐bounding faults. The principle factors of this process were the development of the North Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ) and the related evolution of the Adapazarı–Karasu fault zone (AKFZ), the Bosphorus fault zone (BFZ) and the Northern Boundary fault (NBF).

Zhang, Xiaohui; Wilde, Simon A.; Zhang, Hongfu; Tang, Yanjie; Zhai, Mingguo

doi: 10.1080/00206810802712103pmid: N/A

Allochthonous hornblende‐rich gabbroic rocks at Sonidzuoqi constitute important components of the early to middle Palaeozoic orogen, which forms the southeastern part of the Central Asian orogenic belt in Inner Mongolia. Limited hornblende K–Ar and SHRIMP U–Pb zircon ages document the Late Silurian to Early Devonian gabbroic emplacement. The rocks are tholeiitic and are characterized by moderate large‐ion‐lithophile‐element (e.g. Th, U) abundances, high‐field‐strength‐element (e.g. Nb, Ta, Zr, Ti) depletions, high Ti/V ratios, and MORB‐like isotopic signatures [(87Sr/86Sr)i≈0.7030 to 0.7042; εNd(t)≈+4.35 to +7.80, (206Pb/204Pb)i≈17.46 to 17.61]. These features argue for a hydrous basaltic parental magma. We postulate that the melt formed through the coupling of MORB‐type mantle upwelling with aqueous fluid influx derived from slab devolatilization. This petrogenetic scenario suggests that an active spreading centre entered the trench during ridge subduction, bringing to a close an episode of suprasubduction‐zone ophiolite formation. The Siluro‐Devonian hornblende gabbros, together with a pre‐490 Ma ophiolitic mélange of MORB‐OIB affinity, ∼483–471 Ma arc intrusions, ∼498–461 Ma trondhjemite‐tonalite‐granodiorite plutons, and ∼427–423 Ma calc‐alkaline granites from the same area, provide documentation of multistage crustal generation processes during the life cycle of this suprasubduction‐zone ophiolite.