Research Field: Big Data of Geoscience
The Early Paleozoic Wuyi-Yunkai orogen in southeast China is widely accepted as an intracontinental collision belt and has attracted significant attention in recent decades. Nevertheless, the tectonic driving mechanism for the formation of these granitic rocks is still puzzling. Integrating available data, we conclude that the Ordovician-Devonian granitic rocks in southeast China formed during the period from 452 Ma to 381 Ma, yielding an age peak at around 450–430 Ma. Ordovician rocks are generally distributed in a narrow NE trending belt within the Wuyi-Yunkai orogen, relatively to widely distributed Silurian-Devonian rocks. The Ordovician granitic rocks are mainly distributed in the Wuyi, Yunkai, and Wugongshan areas and exhibit gneissic structures. They were dominantly formed by crustal anatexis and could represent the reworking of Neoproterozoic supracrustal materials. The Silurian-Devonian granitic rocks were massive in structure and are mainly concentrated in the Xuefengshan and Nanling-Wanyangshan areas. They display higher εHf(t) and εNd(t) values and are less variable than the Ordovician granites, suggesting a relatively high contribution of juvenile crust. More importantly, the geochemistry shows a significant transition at ca. 435 Ma, coinciding with regional extension after 435 Ma. We suggest that there was a NE-trending continent-continent collision before 435 Ma and the subsequent increasing orogenic collapse led to the expansion of intracontinental crustal melting.
Big data analysis of magmatic rocks in South China and the relationship between volcanic rocks and intrusive rocks. Through field investigation, geochemical testing, big data analysis, modeling, numerical simulation and other methods, taking Mesozoic magmatic rocks in South China as an example, the formation and evolution of the crust are studied. Based on the big data model, it compares with the magmatic rocks in western North America, discusses the relationship between volcanic rocks and intrusive rocks, and provides theoretical and data support for predicting volcanic eruptions. Furthermore, we also work on Geological Big Data in terms of spatial and temporary distribution of Mesozoic granitoids and volcanic rocks, which helps us find out the relationship between Mesozoic magmatism and tectonic settings. We suggest that the formation of Mesozoic granitoids and volcanic rocks in SE China was related to multiple stages of subduction and roll-back of oceanic slab on the southeast margin of the South China Block.
The Archean crust was dominated by greenstones and granitic rocks such as TTGs (tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite), and they are critical for us to understand the process of continental evolution and the tectonic regime on the early Earth. Thus, what I'm working on is geological big data in terms of trace elements geochemistry of those Archean igneous rocks. Such work has shown that TTGs are probably formed by partial melting of hydrated basalt at high pressures, and there may be an extensive mantle overturn at 3.5-3.2 Ga. What else do those datas could tell us is still being researched. Besides, the investigation on pegmatitic lithium deposits in both Australia and Africa which is still going on could tell us about the features of lithium resources in these two continents, the relation between the formation of pegmatitic lithium deposits and the crustal evolution, and may help to solve other geological issues.
Publications:
Liu, J.X., Wang, S., Wang, X.L., Du, D.H., Xing, G.F., Fu, J.M., Chen, X., Sun, Z.M., 2020. Refining the spatio-temporal distributions of Mesozoic granitoids and volcanic rocks in SE China. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2020.104503.
Huang, D.L., Wang, X.L., 2019. Reviews of geochronology, geochemistry, and geodynamic processes of Ordovician-Devonian granitic rocks in southeast China. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 184: 104001. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2019.104001.
