Home – Home – Jornals – Advanced Search

The paper discusses a possible model of the ancient (Hadean-Archean) Earth’s geodynamic evolution. We believe that the early Earth was characterized by a stagnant lid regime and whole-mantle convection suggesting cells that convect through the whole mantle (from the core-mantle boundary to the lithosphere base). The lid tectonics was perturbed by asteroid-meteorite bombardments that destroyed the primary terrestrial partly granitoid crust. The destroyed crust together with the residual enriched mantle reservoirs sank into the lower mantle. In addition to the crust destruction, the bombardments led to emplacement of a huge proportion of basalt-komatiitic melts, which can be interpreted as mantle overturn events. In the Hadean, the Earth survived frequent large-scale asteroid-meteorite bombardments, which resulted in almost a complete destruction of the primary terrestrial crust. In the Early Archean, the Earth still experienced the same tectonic processes, as in the Hadean; however, meteorite impact was small-scale and the bombardments influenced only a limited area of a common, as it seems to us, subequatorial supercontinent. Those bombardments led to the sagduction of the Archean basalt-komatiiic terrestrial crust, which sank into the mantle, transforming into amphibolite-eclogite rocks giving rise to a tonalite-troondhjemite-granodiorite suite. As preserved in the zircon record, the formation of the Archean mantle-derived magmas occurred as pulses at 4.5, 4.2-4.3, 3.8-3.9, and 3.3-3.4 Ga. These peaks, most likely, correspond to the Hadean-Archean meteorite bombardments. There is evidence of formation of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle (SCLM) beneath the cratons between 3.3 and 3.5 Ga. This SCLM was markedly different from peridotites of modern ophiolites. However, the existence of ophiolitic peridotites indicates that modern style plate tectonic processes were in operation at that time, as we will discuss below. The transition from the early Earth (Hadean-Archean) tectonic style to the recent tectonics occurred between 3.4 (2.7?) and 2.0 Ga.

A new large igneous province (LIP), the 1501 ± 3 Ma Kuonamka LIP, extends across 700 km of northern Siberia and is linked with coeval dykes and sills in the formerly attached São Francisco craton (SFC)-Congo craton to yield a short-duration LIP event 2000 km across. The age of the Kuonamka LIP can be summarized as 1501 ± 3 Ma (95% confidence), based on 7 U-Pb ID-TIMS ages (six new herein) from dolerite dikes and sills extending across the Anabar shield and within western Riphean cover rocks for a distance of 270 km. An additional sill yielded a SIMS (CAMECA) age of 1483 ± 17 Ma and sill in the Olenek uplift several hundred kilometers farther east, a previous SIMS (SHRIMP) age of ca. 1473 Ma was obtained on a sill; both SIMS ages are within the age uncertainty of the ID-TIMS ages. Geochemical data indicate a tholeiitic basalt composition with low MgO (4-7 wt.%) within-plate character based on trace element classification diagrams and source between E-MORB and OIB with only minor contamination from crust or metasomatized lithospheric mantle. Two subgroups are distinguished: Group 1 has gently sloping LREE ((La/Sm)_PM = 1.9) and HREE ((Gd/Yb)_PM = 1.8) patterns, slightly negative Sr and moderate TiO₂ anomalies (2.2 wt.%), and Group 2 has steeper LREE ((La/Sm)_PM = 2.3) and HREE ((Gd/Yb)_PM = 2.3), strong negative Sr anomaly, is higher in TiO₂ (2.7 wt.%), and is transitional from tholeiitic to weakly alkaline in composition. The slight differences in REE slopes are consistent with Group 2 on average melting at deeper levels. Proposed reconstructions of the Kuonamka LIP with 1500 Ma magmatism of the SFC-Congo craton are supported by a geochemical comparison. Specifically, the chemistry of the Chapada Diamantina and Curaça dikes of the SFC can be linked to that of Groups 1 and 2, respectively, of the Kuonamka LIP and are consistent with a common mantle source between EMORB and OIB and subsequent differentiation history. However, the coeval Humpata sills and dikes of the Angola block of the Congo craton represent a different magma batch.

The study of the Mesoproterozoic (1473 ± 24 Ma) dolerites of the Olenek uplift of the Siberian craton basement has shown their petrologic and geochemical similarity to typical OIB produced with the participation of a mantle plume. The dolerites are characterized by variations in geochemical composition explained by different degrees of melting of the same source. A conclusion is drawn that the parental melts of the rocks were slightly modified by crustal contamination, as evidenced from their Nd isotope composition (εNd(T) = +0.6 to -0.8) and the presence of inherited zircons of four ages (2564, 2111, 2053, and 1865 Ma). Since the Siberian craton in the structure of the Nuna supercontinent (Columbia) was located relatively close to the Baltic continent and the Congo and Saõ Francisco cratons, we assume that the Early Mesoproterozoic mafic intrusions (1500-1470 Ma) of all these cratons belong to the same large igneous province (LIP). The province formation was related to the activity of superplume (or mantle hot field), which supplied mantle matter to the lithosphere basement. The superplume core was probably located beneath the northern part of the Siberian craton, where basites are compositionally most similar to the primary mantle source.

Thermodynamic analysis of experimental data has demonstrated that FeO activity in silicate melts identical in composition to natural magmas can be described by the regular-solution model, which takes into account interactions of all cations with Si and interaction of Ca with Al. Using this model, we propose an oxygen barometer for spinel + magma phase association. In contrast to the earlier proposed methods for estimation of oxygen chemical potential, this barometer can work in the PT-domain close to the liquidus of magmatic process. The new oxygen barometer has been applied to magmas related to mantle plume activity, including Siberian meimechites, Hawaiian picrites, and picrites from the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP) and Greenland. We have shown that most magmas related to the activity of deep-seated mantle plumes are characterized by a higher relative chemical potential of oxygen than magmas of mid-ocean ridges. Thermodynamically calculated stability fields of rocks with different carbon-containing phases show that under PT-conditions of the lower mantle, the material of ascending mantle plumes is characterized by relatively elevated oxygen fugacity. Formation of diamond in the lower mantle requires more oxidizing conditions as compared with the major part of this geosphere, where the presence of Fe-Ni alloy is predicted. We have put forward a hypothesis that the main reason for the oxygen fugacity increase in particular domains of the lower mantle is a shift of redox equilibria toward a decrease in the amount of Fe-Ni alloy, up to its disappearance, with temperature growth.

This paper discusses the genesis of large Siberian alkaline massifs hosting major ore deposits. These reference massifs are grouped based on the predominance of alkalies (K or Na) and their agpaitic index (miaskitic and agpaitic). We proposed new emplacement schemes for the Tomtor, Murun, Burpala, Synnyr, and Bilibino massifs supported by petrochemical and geochemical data, as well as new age estimates. Types of their ore potential and genesis of rare-metal mineralization are discussed. The formational types of carbonatites as the main ore-bearing rocks are given. The depth of magma generation and types of mantle sources are determined using isotopic data from previous studies. A model of plume-related generation of ultramafic alkaline magmas is proposed.

Despite the violent eruption of the Siberian Traps large igneous province at ~250 Ma, the Siberian craton has an extremely low heat flow (18-25 mW/m²) and a very thick lithosphere (300-350 km), which makes it an ideal place to study the influence of mantle plumes on the long-term stability of cratons. Compared with seismic velocities of rocks, the lower crust of the Siberian craton is composed mainly of mafic granulites and could be rather heterogeneous in composition. The very high v_P (>7.2 km/s) in the lowermost crust can be fit by a mixture of garnet granulites, two-pyroxene granulites, and garnet gabbros as a result of magma underplating. The high-velocity anomaly in the upper mantle ( v_P = 8.3-8.6 km/s) can be interpreted by a mixture of eclogites and spinel peridotites. Combined with the study of lower crustal and mantle xenoliths, we recognized multistage magma underplating at the crust-mantle boundary beneath the Siberian craton, including the Neoarchean growth and Paleoproterozoic assembly of the Siberian craton beneath the Markha terrane, the Proterozoic collision along the Sayan-Taimyr suture zone, and the Triassic Siberian Trap event beneath the central Tunguska basin. The Moho becomes a metamorphism boundary of mafic rocks between granulite facies and eclogite facies rather than a chemical boundary that separates the mafic lower crust from the ultramafic upper mantle. Therefore, multistage magma underplating since the Neoarchean will result in a seismic Moho shallower than the petrologic Moho. Such magmatism-induced compositional change and dehydration will increase viscosity of the lithospheric mantle and finally trigger lithospheric thickening after mantle plume activity. Hence, mantle plumes are not the key factor for craton destruction.

New data on geology, geochemistry, and isotope systematics of lavas in the East Sikhote-Alin area, along with earlier published evidence for the Sea of Japan, provide insights into the dynamics of back-arc basins and their role in the tectonic and magmatic history of continental margins. Right-lateral strike-slip faulting, the key event in the Cenozoic history of East Sikhote-Alin, apparently had no relation with the subduction in post-Eocene time. At that time, the Late Cretaceous subduction ended and oceanic asthenosphere with Pacific-type MORB isotope signatures injected into the subcontinental mantle through slab windows. The Sea of Japan opening began in the Eocene with formation of small rift basins in the Tatar Strait, which accumulated coastal facies. During the main Miocene phase of activity, the zone affected by oceanic asthenosphere moved eastward, i.e., to the modern deepwater Sea of Japan. The effect of oceanic asthenosphere on the continental margin ended in the Late Miocene after the Sea of Japan had opened and new subduction initiated east of the Japan Islands.

The paper presents new data on age, geochemistry, and Sr and Nd isotope composition of rocks from the Akatui massif and comagmatic rocks from the lower unit of the Kailas Formation (Akatui volcanoplutonic association), localized within the Aleksandrovskii Zavod depression. The amphibole 40Ar/39Ar age date the monzogabbro of the early phase of the Akatui massif at 154.8 ± 4.4 Ma; the monzonite of the main phase yields a 40Ar/39Ar age of 160.7 ± 3.9 Ma, and the shoshonite basalt of the lower unit of the Kailas Formation yields a 40Ar/39Ar age of 161.5 ± 1.7 Ma. The leading petrogenetic mechanism for the Akatui volcanoplutonic association is crystal fractional differentiation of melts with minor crustal contamination, which can be suggested from the mineralogical and petrographic features and geochemical and isotope characteristics of rocks. The geochemical data for the Akatui volcanoplutonic association show LILE, LREE, U, Th, and Pb enrichment with a characteristic depletion in high-field strength elements (HFSE), such as Nb and Ti. They are also depleted in P. Sr-Nd isotope data (87Sr/86Sr_{(160 Ma)} = 0.70642-0.70688 and εNd(160 Ma) = -0.6 to -2.2) suggest an EMII-type mantle source and could also indicate a negligible degree of crustal contamination in the evolved melts.

We present results of a comparative study of Late Paleozoic granitoids of Eastern Kazakhstan and Western Transbaikalia composing the large Kalba-Narym and Angara-Vitim batholiths. We have established that despite the different geologic history of these regions, granitoid magmatism there proceeded nearly synchronously at the Carboniferous-Permian boundary (330-280 Ma) and was accompanied by mantle magmatism. The regularities of its evolution are considered in terms of the plume model and different stages of interaction of mantle plumes with the lithosphere. The major principles of plume-lithosphere interaction in accretion-collision fold belts have been formulated: (1) Plume-lithosphere interaction results in large-scale melting of sublithospheric mantle, lower lithosphere, and crustal substrates warmed by the preceding orogenic process; (2) The processes last 30 to 50 Myr and produce large volumes of igneous rocks, mostly granitoids; (3) The sequence of formation of granitoid and basic igneous complexes and the metallogenic specialization can be different and depend on the lithosphere structure and preceding geologic history of the region.

The Ir(CO)₂(hfac) complex (hfac = CF₃C(O)CHC(O)CF₃) has been studied by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The crystallographic data are as follows: space group Cmc 2₁, a = 8.680(4) Å, b = 18.951(1) Å, c = 6.491(3) Å, V = 1067.7(8) ų, Z = 4, R = 0.0327. The structure is molecular; the coordination polyhedron of iridium adopts a distorted square geometry. The average Ir-O and Ir-C distances are 2.06(1) Å and 1.82(4) Å respectively. The OIrO and CIrC angles are nearly equal (88.7(5)° and 89(1)° respectively). The thermal properties of the complex have been studied by thermogravimetry.