Detrital mode, mineralogy and geochemistry of the Sidi Aïch Formation (Early Cretaceous) in central and southwestern Tunisia: Implications for provenance, tectonic setting and paleoenvironment

2009 ◽  
Vol 53 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wissem Gallala ◽  
Mohamed Essghaier Gaied ◽  
Mabrouk Montacer
2021 ◽  

Mesozoic plate convergence in SE Sundaland has been a source of debate for decades. A determination of plate convergence boundaries and timing have been explained in many publications, but not all boundaries were associated with magmatism. Through integration of both plate configurations and magmatic deposits, the basement can be accurately characterized over time and areal extents. This paper will discuss Cretaceous subductions and magmatic arc trends in SE Sundaland area with additional evidence found in JS-1 Ridge. At least three subduction trends are captured during the Mesozoic in the study area: 1) Early Jurassic – Early Cretaceous trend of Meratus, 2) Early Cretaceous trend of Bantimala and 3) Late Cretaceous trend in the southernmost study area. The Early Jurassic – Early Cretaceous subduction occurred along the South and East boundary of Sundaland (SW Borneo terrane) and passes through the Meratus area. The Early Cretaceous subduction occurred along South and East boundary of Sundaland (SW Borneo and Paternoster terranes) and pass through the Bantimala area. The Late Cretaceous subduction occurred along South and East boundary of Sundaland (SW Borneo, Paternoster and SE Java – South Sulawesi terranes), but is slightly shifted to the South approaching the Oligocene – Recent subduction zone. Magmatic arc trends can also be generally grouped into three periods, with each period corresponds to the subduction processes at the time. The first magmatic arc (Early Jurassic – Early Cretaceous) is present in core of SW Borneo terrane and partly produces the Schwaner Magmatism. The second Cretaceous magmatic arc (Early Cretaceous) trend is present in the SW Borneo terrane but is slightly shifted southeastward It is responsible for magmatism in North Java offshore, northern JS-1 Ridge and Meratus areas. The third magmatic arc trend is formed by Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks in Luk Ulo, the southern JS-1 Ridge and the eastern Makassar Strait areas. These all occur during the same time within the Cretaceous magmatic arc. Though a mélange rock sample has not been found in JS-1 Ridge area, there is evidence of an accretionary prism in the area as evidenced by the geometry observed on a new 3D seismic dataset. Based on the structural trend of Meratus (NNE-SSW) coupled with the regional plate boundary understanding, this suggests that both Meratus & JS-1 Ridge are part of the same suture zone between SW Borneo and Paternoster terranes. The gradual age transition observed in the JS-1 Ridge area suggests a southward shift of the magmatic arc during Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous times.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. T525-T545
Author(s):  
Yaxiong Sun ◽  
Wenlong Ding ◽  
Yang Gu ◽  
Gang Zhao ◽  
Siyu Shi ◽  
...  

Redbeds with a large thickness in the lower Cretaceous record abundant geologic information in the Minle Basin. We have conducted the paleoweathering conditions, provenance, and tectonic settings based on mineralogy and geochemistry. Our results indicate that mudstone samples are characterized by abundant illite with negligible amounts of K-feldspars and analcime. The lower part of the lower Cretaceous is rich in quartz, whereas the upper part is dominated by dolomite and analcime. We suggest that this is caused by the decreasing input of the clastic influx during the middle-late early Cretaceous. High index of compositional variation values (average 1.33) indicate first-cycle sediment supply, suggesting an overall compositional immaturity and short-distance transportation. These characteristics are consistent with an active regional extension tectonic setting. The [Formula: see text] system ([Formula: see text];[Formula: see text];[Formula: see text]) and Th/U versus Th consistently reveal that the lower Cretaceous experienced a positive gradient in chemical weathering from young to old formations. Although the patterns of trace elements in three formations of the lower Cretaceous are different, those of the rare earth elements (REEs) tend to be consistent. The significant enrichment of light REEs, heavy REEs fractionation, and distinctive negative Eu anomalies suggest derivation from an old, upper continental crust composed of predominantly felsic sediments. This interpretation is supported by several discrimination diagrams such as titanium dioxide-nickel ([Formula: see text]), which shows the characteristics of immature recycled sediments. A few sensitive elements, ratios, and normalized REE patterns indicate a provenance of an active continental margin and a continental island arc (CIA). The La-Th-Sc, Th-Co-Zr/10, and Th-Sc-Zr/10 discrimination plots further confirm the CIA signature. Thus, we conclude that the early Cretaceous redbeds in the Minle Basin, Hexi Corridor, were deposited in a dustpan-shaped half-graben basin in a CIA setting when northwest China was influenced by intense regional extension.


2019 ◽  
Vol 132 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 1257-1272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Chuan Zeng ◽  
Ji-Feng Xu ◽  
Feng Huang ◽  
Ming-Jian Li ◽  
Qin Chen

Abstract Successively erupted intermediate-felsic rocks with variations in their geochemical compositions indicate physical changes in lower-crust conditions, and the variations can provide important insights into the regional tectonic setting. What triggered the late Early Cretaceous tectonic transition of the central-north Lhasa Terrane remains controversial, hindering the understanding of the mechanisms behind the formation of the central Tibetan Plateau. The sodic Dagze volcanic rocks in the north Lhasa Terrane are characterized by high contents of SiO2 and Na2O, low contents of MgO, Fe2O3, and K2O, and low values of Mg#. However, the trace element compositions of the whole-rocks and their zircons allow the rocks to be divided into two groups. The Group I rocks (ca. 105 Ma) have higher contents of Sr and Ba, higher Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios, and lower contents of Y, Yb, Ti, and Zr than Group II rocks (ca. 100 Ma). Besides, the zircons from Group I rocks have higher values of Yb/Gd and U/Yb, lower values of Th/U, and lower Ti contents than the zircons from Group II rocks. However, the rocks of both groups have identical depleted whole-rock Sr-Nd and zircon Hf isotope values. The geochemical data indicate that rocks of both groups were generated by partial melting of a juvenile lower crust, but the differences in the two groups reflect a transition from deep-cold melting to relatively shallower-hotter melting in the period from ca. 105 to 100 Ma. This transition was synchronous with the rapid cooling of granitoids, topographic uplift, and the shutdown of magmatism in the central-north Lhasa Terrane, and followed by sedimentation and the resumption of magmatism in the south Lhasa Terrane. The above observations collectively indicate that the central-north Lhasa Terrane was under an extensional setting in late Early Cretaceous, and we tentatively suggest that it was in response to lithospheric drip during roll-back of the northward-subducting Neo-Tethyan oceanic plate.


2017 ◽  
Vol 188 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Jolivet ◽  
Anastasia Arzhannikova ◽  
Andrei Frolov ◽  
Sergei Arzhannikov ◽  
Natalia Kulagina ◽  
...  

The Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous tectonic evolution of SE Siberia was marked by the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean. While this geodynamic event led to compressive deformation and denudation in a wide area encompassing the North-Altay, Sayan and Baikal Patom ranges, it was contemporaneous to widespread extension from the Transbaikal region situated immediately north of the suture zone to the Pacific plate, affecting eastern Mongolia and northeastern China. In this study we review the paleontological and sedimentological data available in the Russian literature and provide new macro-floral and palynological data from the Mesozoic sediments of three Transbaikal basins. These data are used to describe the paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic evolution of the Transbaikal area in order to assess the topographic evolution of the region in relation with the closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean. We establish that the Transbaikal basins evolved in a continuously extensional tectonic setting from at least the Early-Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. The associated sedimentary environments are characterized by retrogradation from alluvial fan–braided river dominated systems prevailing during the Early to Middle Jurassic initial opening of the basins to meandering river– lacustrine systems that developed during the Late Jurassic - Early Cretaceous interval. No evidence of high relief topography was found and we conclude that, while compression and denudation occurred in the North Altai, Sayan and Patom ranges, in the Transbaikal region, the docking of the Mongolia-North China continent to Siberia was a “soft collision” event, possibly involving a major strike-slip displacement that did not lead to an orogenic event implying strong compressive deformation, crustal thickening and topography building.


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