G3:Tectonic Controls on Block Rotation and Sheeted Sill Emplacement in the Xigaze Ophiolite (Tibet): The Construction Mode of Slow-Spreading and Ultraslow- Spreading Oceanic Crusts

发布时间:2021-09-15 放大 缩小

 Abstract The internal structure of oceanic crusts is not well understood due to the limitation of  deep drilling. However, that of ophiolites, i.e., on-land ancient analogs of oceanic lithosphere, could be  precisely mapped and measured. The Xigaze ophiolite in Tibet has been regarded as “peculiar”, due to the  sheeted sill complex in its upper crust, and non-sheeted diabase sills/dikes crosscutting its mantle and  lower crust, which are geometrically different from the primarily vertical sheeted dike complex. Based on  extensive field observations, here we present petrological and geochemical data for the Xigaze ophiolite  to decipher the origin of sheeted sill complex and its implications for the construction of oceanic crusts.  Diabases in the Xigaze ophiolite could be subdivided into sheeted sills, Group 1 non-sheeted dikes, and  Group 2 non-sheeted sills, based on their orientations. These diabases cut other lithologies, and hence  belong to the latest-stage products. Based on petrological, geochemical, and structural data, we highlight  the important role of detachment fault in the generation of sheeted and non-sheeted sills. During the  formation of oceanic crust, large block exhumation, multi-stage rotations, and foundering are argued  here as key mechanisms for the generation of Xigaze sheeted and non-sheeted dikes/sills, all of which are  in the evolution of detachment fault systems. These processes are also not uncommon for asymmetrical  segments at modern slow-spreading and ultraslow-spreading ridges, but are rare at symmetrical segments.  Due to the evolution of detachment fault, the internal structures of (ultra)slow-spreading ridges are more  complex than those at fast-spreading ridges.
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