Abstract
Compression wave velocityV p has been measured on 10 representative rock samples from the Early Mesozoic granulite and mafic-ultramafic cumulate xenoliths population from the Harqin area of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (for short Inner Mongolia) as an aid to interpretingin-situ seismic velocity data and investigating velocity variation with depth in a mafic lower crust. The experiments have been carried out at constant confining pressures up to 1 000 MPa and temperatures ranging from 20 to around 1 300°C, using the ultrasonic transmission technique. After corrections for estimatedin situ crustal pressures and temperatures, elastic wave velocities range from 6.5 to 7.4 km·s−1, indicating that they are components of the Early Mesozoic crust-mantle transitional zone. Combining with previous experimental data, we have also reestablished the Early-Mesozoic continental compression velocity profile and compared it with those of the present and of the different tectonic environments in the world. The result shows that it is similar to the velocity pattern of the extensional tectonic area, providing new clues to the Mesozoic continental structure of the North China Craton.
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Shao, J., Han, Q. Early Mesozoic mantle-crust transitional zone in eastern Inner Mongolia: Evidence from measurements of compressional velocities of xenoliths at high pressure and high temperature. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 43 (Suppl 1), 253–261 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02911950
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02911950