Neoproterozoic Low-K Tholeiite-Boninite Association in Central Eritrea     

M. Teklay  K. Berhe  U. Reimold  R. Armstrong  J. Watson 《Gondwana Research》2001,4(2)

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A Back-arc Palaeotectonic Setting for the Augaro Neoproterozoic Magmatic Rocks of Western Eritrea     

M. Teklay  T. Haile  A. Krner  Y. Asmerom  J. Watson 《Gondwana Research》2003,6(4):629-640

The Augaro volcano-sedimentary assemblages of western Eritrea are part of the Neoproterozoic, N-S trending belt of low-grade volcano-sedimentary and associated plutonic rocks. In contrast to the volcanic-dominated oceanic-arc assemblages in central Eritrea, the predominant rock types in the west are supracrustal sequences of sedimentary origin with subordinate volcanic rocks. These Augaro supracrustal rocks are overlain, unconformably, by a basin-fill metasedimentary succession known as the Gulgula Group. The Augaro metavolcanic rocks are tholeiitic and range in composition from basalt to basaltic andesite. Comparison of trace element characteristics and N-MORB-normalised spidergrams of these rocks with those of modern volcanic environments and age-comparable metavolcanic rocks of known tectonic association from the Arabian-Nubian Shield suggest that the volcanic assemblages from western Eritrea were generated in a back-arc tectonic setting.

Single zircon Pb-Pb evaporation and vapour-transfer U-Pb analyses of magmatic zircons from pre/syn-tectonic granites yield a mean ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of 849±20 Ma and an upper concordia intercept age of 849±26 Ma. These ages are interpreted to represent the time of major magmatism in western Eritrea and are comparable to ages of early arc magmatism in central and northern Eritrea and in the southern Nubian Shield. Initial eNd values and initial Sr isotope ratios of whole-rock samples of magmatic rocks calculated for an age of 850 Ma range from +4.0 to +7.1 and 0.7026 to 0.7037, respectively. Single zircon ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages, initial eNd value and Sr isotope ratio for a granitic clast in the Gulgula metaconglomerate suggest that the source area for the Gulgula metasedimentary rocks is similar to the surrounding Neoproterozoic rocks of western Eritrea.  相似文献   

Earth Science Education in Eritrea     

Mengist Teklay 《Journal of African Earth Sciences》1999,28(4):805-810

In Eritrea, Earth Science Education is taught only by the Earth Sciences Department based at the College of Science, University of Asmara. Currently, the University of Asmara has eight teaching Colleges: Agriculture & Aquatic Sciences, Arts and Social Sciences, Business and Economics, Education, Engineering, Health Sciences, Law, and Science offering Bachelor degrees, Diplomas and Certificates in various fields. The Earth Sciences Department was established as a Geology Unit in 1983 and until 1996 offered minor and service geology courses for students of Science and Agriculture. The Department started a four-year degree programme in Geology (B.Sc. in Geology) at the beginning of the 1996/97 academic year. The B.Sc. programme in Geology provides students with a Geology major and a minor in Physics or Chemistry. Potential major organisations which employ the geology graduates include the Ministry of Mines and Energy, and the Ministry of Land, Water and Environment, as well as mining and petroleum companies which are currently active in mineral resources exploration in the country.  相似文献   

Geochemical characteristics and Sr–Nd–Hf isotope compositions of mantle xenoliths and host basalts from Assab, Eritrea: implications for the composition and thermal structure of the lithosphere beneath the Afar Depression     

Mengist Teklay  Erik E. Scherer  Klaus Mezger  Leonid Danyushevsky 《Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology》2010,159(5):731-751

The Afar Depression offers a rare opportunity to study the geodynamic evolution of a rift system from continental rifting to sea floor spreading. This study presents geochemical data for crustal and mantle xenoliths and their alkaline host basalts from the region. The basalts have enriched REE patterns, OIB-like trace element characteristics, and a limited range in isotopic composition (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70336–0.70356, ε _Nd = +6.6 to +7.0, and ε _Hf = +10.0 to +10.7). In terms of trace elements and Sr–Nd isotopes, they are similar to basalts from the Hanish and Zubair islands in the southern Red Sea and are thus interpreted to be melts from the Afar mantle. The gabbroic crustal xenoliths vary widely in isotope composition (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70437–0.70791, ε _Nd = −8.1 to +2.5, and ε _Hf = −10.5 to +4.9), and their trace element characteristics match those of Neoproterozoic rocks from the Arabian–Nubian Shield and modern arc rocks, suggesting that the lower crust beneath the Afar Depression contains Neoproterozoic mafic igneous rocks. Ultramafic mantle xenoliths from Assab contain primary assemblages of fresh ol + opx + cpx + sp ± pl, with no alteration or hydrous minerals. They equilibrated at 870–1,040°C and follow a steep geothermal gradient consistent with the tectonic environment of the Afar Depression. The systematic variations in major and trace elements among the Assab mantle xenoliths together with their isotopic compositions suggest that these rocks are not mantle residues but rather series of layered cumulate sills that crystallized from a relatively enriched picritic melt related to the Afar plume that was emplaced before the eruption of the host basalts.  相似文献