The Oulongbuluke Block is an integral part of the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents, but the lack of rock records from the transitional period between the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents during the mid−late Mesoproterozoic has impeded our understanding of the tectonic relationship of the Oulongbuluke Block, which lies between the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents. In this contribution, we present a systematic petrographic, geochemical, and zircon U-Pb-Hf investigation of newly discovered metamafic rocks in the Oulongbuluke Block. The results show that the metamafic rocks have a protolith age of ca. 1.35 Ga and an arc-related metamorphic age of ca. 1.11−1.09 Ga. The metamafic rock samples are geochemically characterized by relatively high FeOT/MgO and FeOT and low SiO2, MgO, and K2O + Na2O, which shows tholeiitic affinity. These metamafic rocks exhibit slight light rare earth element (LREE) depletion and flat heavy rare earth element (HREE) content with no obvious Eu anomalies and slightly negative Nb, Sr, and Zr anomalies. These conditions are similar to those of enriched mid-oceanic-ridge basalt (E-MORB) and normal mid-oceanic-ridge basalt (N-MORB). The metamorphic rocks studied also have positive zircon εHf(t) values (2.96−7.04). Hence, the protoliths of the metamafic rocks may have been produced by variable degrees of melting of spinel-phase lherzolite mantle in a mid-oceanic ridge setting that was probably induced by a mantle plume. The presence of metamafic rocks indicates that the Oulongbuluke Block experienced the final breakup of the Columbia supercontinent at ca. 1.35 Ga, and the ca. 1.11−1.09 Ga arc-related metamorphism coincided with the convergence of the Rodinia supercontinent. The tectonic setting of the Oulongbuluke Block changed from a mid-oceanic ridge setting to an arc setting during the mid−late Mesoproterozoic, which was likely a response to the transition from the Columbia supercontinent to Rodinia supercontinent.
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Research Article|
February 16, 2022
The newly discovered ca. 1.35 Ga metamafic rocks in the Oulongbuluke Block, NW China, and its record for transition from the Columbia to Rodinia supercontinent
Pei Lv;
Pei Lv
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
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Shengyao Yu;
Shengyao Yu
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China2
Laboratory for Marine Geology and Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, China3
Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Evaluation in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Natural Resources, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
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Yinbiao Peng;
Yinbiao Peng
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
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Sanzhong Li;
Sanzhong Li
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China2
Laboratory for Marine Geology and Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, China
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Yongjiang Liu;
Yongjiang Liu
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China2
Laboratory for Marine Geology and Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, China
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Chunyu Wang;
Chunyu Wang
4
College of Mining Engineering, Heilongjiang University of Science and Technology, Haerbin 150090, China
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Deyou Sun;
Deyou Sun
3
Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Evaluation in Northeast Asia, Ministry of Natural Resources, Jilin University, Changchun 130061, China
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Xingzhou Deyou;
Xingzhou Deyou
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
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Xiangyu Xingzhou;
Xiangyu Xingzhou
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
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Wentao Ji;
Wentao Ji
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
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Chuanzhi Li
Chuanzhi Li
1
Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, MOE, Institute for Advanced Ocean Study, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China
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GSA Bulletin (2022)
Article history
received:
04 Aug 2021
rev-recd:
22 Sep 2021
accepted:
06 Dec 2021
first online:
16 Feb 2022
Citation
Pei Lv, Shengyao Yu, Yinbiao Peng, Sanzhong Li, Yongjiang Liu, Chunyu Wang, Deyou Sun, Xingzhou Deyou, Xiangyu Xingzhou, Wentao Ji, Chuanzhi Li; The newly discovered ca. 1.35 Ga metamafic rocks in the Oulongbuluke Block, NW China, and its record for transition from the Columbia to Rodinia supercontinent. GSA Bulletin 2022; doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B36269.1
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- Altyn Tagh Fault
- amphibole group
- Asia
- boudinage
- chain silicates
- China
- clinopyroxene
- crystal zoning
- crystalline rocks
- decompression
- Ectasian
- Far East
- feldspar group
- fractional crystallization
- framework silicates
- geochronology
- ICP mass spectra
- intergrowths
- ion probe data
- laser ablation
- laser methods
- lenses
- magmas
- major elements
- mantle
- mantle plumes
- mass spectra
- Mesoproterozoic
- metaigneous rocks
- metals
- metamorphic rocks
- metamorphism
- Neoproterozoic
- nesosilicates
- olivine
- olivine group
- orthosilicates
- oxides
- plagioclase
- Precambrian
- Proterozoic
- protoliths
- pyroxene group
- quartz
- rare earths
- retrograde metamorphism
- Rodinia
- shear
- SHRIMP data
- silica minerals
- silicates
- solid solution
- spectra
- spinel
- Stenian
- trace elements
- U/Pb
- upper Precambrian
- zircon
- zircon group
- Quanji Group
- Dakendaban Group
- Wandonggou Group
- Delingha Complex
- Oulongbuluke Block
Latitude & Longitude