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Geoscience ›› 2022, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (01): 225-243.DOI: 10.19657/j.geoscience.1000-8527.2021.070

• Petrology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Relation Between the Emeishan Mantle Plume Activity and Wumengshan Volcanic-Sedimentary Basin in Northeastern Yunnan

ZHANG Honghui1(), WU Liang1(), LI Hong1, YU Yangzhong1, YUAN Yongsheng1, ZHANG Liyuan2, LI Shizhong1, ZHAO Jianbo1, PAN Jiangtao1, ZHAN Huasi3, SHI Haitao4, CHEN Guiren1   

  1. 1. Kunming Natural Resources Comprehensive Investigation Center of China Geological Survey,Kunming,Yunnan 650100, China
    2. Geophysical investigation center of China Geological Survey,Langfang,Hebei 065000,China
    3. Haikou Marine Geological Investigation Center of China Geological Survey,Haikou,Hainan 571127,China
    4. Urumqi Natural Resources Comprehensive Investigation Center of China Geological Survey, Urumqi,Xinjiang 830000, China
  • Received:2021-03-30 Revised:2021-11-21 Online:2022-02-10 Published:2022-03-08
  • Contact: WU Liang

Abstract:

To deepen the understanding on the evolution of the Emeishan mantle plume in Wumengshan area of northeastern Yunnan,detailed geological investigations of the Emeishan flood basalt and the underlying Qixia-Maokou Formation in the area, as well as petrological and isotopic chronological studies of the Emeishan flood basalt have been carried out. The results show that the crustal uplift caused by the Emeishan mantle plume activity formed the geological characteristics of the Qixia-Maokou Formation, which is thin in the west but thick in the east, and the Emeishan flood basalt, which is thick in the west but thin in the east, and the crustal uplift started at (273.1±3.1) Ma, and the uplift was about 512 m. However, this process was slow and did not cause the differential weathering and denudation of the limestone at the top of the Maokou Formation. Besides, the Emeishan flood basalt and Maokou Formation were basically deposited continuously. The Emeishan flood basalt in the Wumengshan area may have undergone four large-scale eruptions, corresponding to four sub-cycles. Each sub-cycle started with a sedimentary interbed, covered by a large number of overflow basalt facies. The eruption timing of the four subcycles was determined to be (261.9±2.0) Ma, (261.8±3.7) Ma, (261.6±1.9) Ma, (261.5±2.1) Ma, respectively. The main eruption phase lasted for about 0.4 My,and the mantle plume activity may last until (258.86±0.71) Ma. Based on the isotope chronology data, according to the thickness difference of Qixia-Maokou Formation, the horizontal and vertical variation characteristics of each subcycle of Emeishan flood basalt, the lithology and lithofacies characteristics of each subcycle and sedimentary interbed, the volcanic-sedimentary basinal evolution of Emeishan mantle plume in Wumengshan can be divided into the mantle plume upwelling (273.1-262.0 Ma), the basalt eruption(261.9-261.5 Ma ), and the mantle plume extinction stages (261.5-258.86 Ma ).

Key words: mantle plume, Emeishan flood basalt, volcanic-sedimentary basin, Maokou Formation

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