The Gangjia granite stock is a garnet-bearing muscovite leucogranitic body emplaced in Yiwulüshan in Western Liaoning Province at the eastern segment of the Yanshan orogenic belt, North China craton. The SHRIMP U–Pb zircon age is 153±5 Ma. The Gangjia granites are peraluminous with A/CNK of more than 1.14, and exhibit a tetrad effect in their REE distribution patterns, as well as non-charge-and-radius-controlled trace element behaviour. This is in contrast to the LREE-enriched patterns of the host Lüshan monzogranites. These geochemical characteristics, together with low Th/U ratios in zircon, suggest that the parental magmas for the Gangjia granites have experienced extensive magmatic differentiation, including interaction between residual melt and a coexisting high-temperature aqueous fluid. Their similar ϵNd(t), model ages, compatible age patterns and common volcanic arc signature in source materials between the Gangjia granites and the host Lüshan monzogranites indicate their comagmatic relationship. These unusual peraluminous leucogranites, coupled with the voluminous adakitic granites hosting them, represent typical post-orogenic magmatism developed under an intra-continental extensional tectonic regime. At the very end of the prolonged Jurassic magmatic evolution in Western Liaoning, extensive fractionation of most probably ferromagnesian phases and plagioclase from a calc-alkaline magma parental to the host Lüshan pluton, with overprint of the magmatic hydrothermal fluid, produced highly evolved peraluminous parental magmas for the Gangjia granites.

A high-resolution palynological analysis and a detailed palaeomagnetic study of a marine sequence recovered during IODP Expedition Leg 307 in the Porcupine Basin southwest of Ireland provide new insights into the regional depositional history and palaeoenvironmental evolution during Early Neogene times. The Hole 1318B studied was drilled on the upper slope of the continental margin in a water depth of 409 m, upslope from a province of carbonate mounds (the Belgica mound province). The diverse and well-preserved dinoflagellate cyst associations consist typically of deep neritic and oceanic species, mixed with a neritic component transported from the shelf, reflecting the deep depositional setting at the continental margin. The palaeomagnetic record together with the ranges of key dinoflagellate cyst species constrain the age of the studied sequence between 16.7 Ma and 12.01 Ma, that is, between the late Burdigalian and late Serravallian. The distinct unconformity terminating the Miocene sequence correlates to the global sequence boundary Ser4/Tor1 dated at 10.5 Ma, and represents, according to previous extensive seismic studies, a basin-wide erosional event. The overlying sediments are of Middle Pleistocene or younger age. Downslope from IODP Site 1318, carbonate mounds root on the erosional surface. The dinoflagellate cyst associations from the Porcupine Basin distinctly mirror the global cooling phase following the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. Cooling phase Mi3, a short-lived glaciation, is particularly well expressed and here dated at 13.6 Ma. The palynomorph record furthermore indicates a reduction of the productivity and an increase of oceanic oligotrophic species after 14 Ma, suggesting a reduction or perhaps even a shutdown of the upwelling.

The Aguablanca stock is a Variscan mafic pluton located in the Ossa-Morena zone, southern Iberian Massif, hosting an unusual Ni–Cu–PGE mineralization associated with magmatic breccia pipes which intruded its northern part. The emplacement of the Aguablanca stock and the mineralized breccia pipes are related to the activity of the Cherneca ductile shear zone, a Variscan sinistral shear zone that favoured magma ascent through the upper crust. A detailed gravity study has been carried out in order to investigate the 3D geometry of the Aguablanca intrusion and to get insights about the emplacement mechanism and tectonic controls of the mineralization. The three-dimensional gravity modelling shows that the stock has an inverted drop geometry with a feeder zone in contact with the Cherneca ductile shear zone. The inferred orientation of the feeder zone suggests that the emplacement probably took place along an open tensional crack formed within the strain field of the adjacent Cherneca ductile shear zone. The modelling of the breccia pipes hosting the Ni–Cu–PGE ore shows that they are included inside the feeder zone, thus their emplacement is probably controlled by successive opening events of this tensional crack.

Within the Scottish Caledonides, the Glen Scaddle Metagabbro was intruded into the Moine Supergroup of the Northern Highland Terrane after Grampian D2 folding and prior to regional D3 and D4 upright folding and amphibolite-facies metamorphism. A U–Pb zircon age of 426 ± 3 Ma obtained from the metagabbro is interpreted to date emplacement. D3–D4 folding is constrained to have occurred during the Scandian orogenic event. In contrast, polyphase folding and regional metamorphism of the Dalradian Supergroup southeast of the Great Glen Fault is entirely Grampian. These differences are consistent with published tectonic models that invoke a minimum of 700 km of post-Scandian sinistral displacements across the Great Glen Fault to juxtapose the Grampian and Northern Highland terranes.

After the formation of the ~ 260 Ma Emeishan large igneous province, there were two volumetrically minor magmatic pulses at ~ 252 Ma and ~ 242 Ma, respectively. Alkaline mafic dykes intruding both 260 Ma and 252 Ma felsic plutons in the Panxi region, southwestern China, have compositions similar to the Emeishan flood basalts. One dyke is dated using the SHRIMP zircon U–Pb technique at 242 ± 2 Ma, ~ 18 Ma younger than the start of Emeishan magmatism. The dykes have enriched light rare earth element patterns (La/YbN = 4.4–18.8) and trace element patterns similar to the Emeishan flood basalts and average ocean-island basalts. Some trace element ratios of the dykes (Zr/Nb = 3.8–8.2, La/Nb = 0.4–1.7, Ba/La = 7.5–25.6) are somewhat similar to EM1 source material, however, there are differences. Their εNd values (εNd = +2.6 and +2.7) and ISr (ISr = 0.704542 and 0.704554) ratios are indicative of a mantle source. Thus Emeishan magmatism may have lasted for almost 20 Ma after the initial eruption. However, geological evidence precludes the possibility that the post-260 Ma magmatic events were directly related to Emeishan magmatism, which began at and ended shortly after 260 Ma. The 252 Ma plutons and 242 Ma dykes represent volumetrically minor melting of the fossil Emeishan plume-head beneath the Yangtze crust. The 252 Ma magmatic event was likely caused by post-flood basalt extension of the Yangtze crust, whereas the 242 Ma event was caused by decompressional melting associated with the collision between the South China and North China blocks during the Middle Triassic.

The ages obtained by the 40Ar–39Ar encapsulation technique (retention and total gas ages) on <2 μm fractions of five metapelites from the Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex and two from the Chonos Metamorphic Complex allow discussion of the latest recorded metamorphic event in each zone. The Kübler Index (KI) of illite/muscovite (principal component of the metapelites) varies between 0.15° and 0.45° Δ°2θ, indicating regional variation from diagenetic to epizonal metamorphic grade. The 40Ar–39Ar encapsulation analyses reveal 39Ar loss varying between 21 and 25%, which shows a limited positive correlation with KI values. The obtained retention and total gas metapelite ages reflect distinct metamorphic conditions. Retention ages most probably indicate burial or regional metamorphic events without plutonic influence in the southern Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex. Total gas ages reflect contact ages for metapelites close to intrusions in the northern and southern Eastern Andean Metamorphic Complex and in the Chonos Metamorphic Complex. The thermal overprinting of metapelites occurred in Early Cretaceous times at 130 Ma and 145 Ma and is related to the contact metamorphism of an emplacement pulse of the North Patagonian Batholith. Total gas metapelite ages obtained from the western belt of the Chonos Metamorphic Complex suggest a thermal event related to a distinct pulse of the North Patagonian Batholith.

Porphyroblastic garnet-bearing metagabbros from the base of the lower crust section of the Serre (southern Italy) exhibit multi-stage dehydration and decompression after the Panafrican emplacement of their protoliths. The first dehydration event produced Am–Opx–Cpx–Pl–Grt as the peak assemblage. Two decompression stages are documented by: (1) coronas of Opx–Pl and Opx–Am, and symplectites of Opx–Am–Pl around clinopyroxene within the porphyroblastic garnet as well as in the matrix and (2) symplectites of Pl–Am–Opx–Grt having different textures around the porphyroblastic garnet. During the second decompression stage, a new local, somewhat intense, dehydration occurred and produced rims of Opx+Pl around the porphyroblastic amphibole, or lenses of Pl–Opx–Am–Spl±Bt between layers of dominant amphibole. A deformation stage separates older from younger reaction textures. The porphyroblastic garnet, its inclusions and the matrix are affected by fractures, which have been overgrown by coronas and symplectites around the porphyroblastic garnet and the amphibole of the matrix. Preferred P–T estimates are: ∼900 °C and ∼1.1 GPa at the metamorphic peak; ∼850 °C and 0.8–0.9 GPa during the formation of corona around clinopyroxene; 750–650 °C and 0.7–0.8 GPa during the formation of corona around garnet. All these textures formed under granulite-facies conditions. The subsequent metamorphic evolution consists of rehydration under amphibolite-facies conditions. The P–T–t path agrees with the path shown by the uppermost migmatites of the Serre section, and the P–T estimates at the top and the bottom of the section are consistent with the thickness (7–8 km) of the lower crustal segment. A contractional regime, which caused a crustal thickening of about 35 km, was followed by an extensional one producing significant crustal thinning; the change of tectonic regime probably occurred about 300 Ma ago when the emplacement of voluminous granitoids and the initial stages of exhumation of the lower crustal section had taken place.

The Anatolian Platform, which was a part of the Gondwanan Platform, is mainly characterized by carbonate-dominated deposits ranging in age from Devonian to Permian. The biostratigraphy and systematics of a late Asselian–early Sakmarian fusulinid fauna from the Anatolian Platform including Eastern and Central Taurides have been investigated in three sections: Özbek Hill, Eskibey and Bademli. Twenty-four fusulinid taxa, belonging to twelve genera, were determined in a single fusulinid zone dated as late Asselian–early Sakmarian. Early–middle Asselian fusulinid faunas have not been observed in any of the measured sections throughout the Anatolian Platform. This indicates that lower to middle Asselian deposits are represented by an interval characterized by quartz sandstone overlying upper Gzhelian strata. Five new species (Pseudochusenella anatoliana, Pseudofusulinoides altineri, Pseudofusulinoides convexus, Pseudofusulinoides subglobosus and Pseudofusulinoides vachardi) are described in this study. The Early Permian fusulinid fauna correlates very well with the fauna of other sections in the Palaeotethyan realm (Southern Alps, Central Asia, Southern China and Japan).

Despite extensive research on fault rocks, and on their commercial importance, there is no non-genetic classification of fault breccias that can easily be applied in the field. The present criterion for recognizing fault breccia as having no ‘primary cohesion’ is often difficult to assess. Instead we propose that fault breccia should be defined, as with sedimentary breccia, primarily by grain size: with at least 30% of its volume comprising clasts at least 2 mm in diameter. To subdivide fault breccias, we advocate the use of textural terms borrowed from the cave-collapse literature – crackle, mosaic and chaotic breccia – with bounds at 75% and 60% clast content. A secondary breccia discriminant, more difficult to apply in the field, is the ratio of cement to matrix between the clasts. Clast-size issues concerning fault gouge, cataclasite and mylonite are also discussed.