M. Santosh

• Ph.D., D.Sc., D.Sc.
• Professor at China University of Geosciences (Beijing)

Charnockite is one of the conspicuous lithologies in Precambrian granulite terranes, and isotope studies on them can help better understand regional tectonics. Here, we present new petrological, geochemical, and zircon U‐Pb and Lu‐Hf isotopic data for charnockite and associated felsic/mafic orthogneisses from the Northern Marginal Zone (NMZ) of the...

Critical metals like rare earth elements (REE), Li, Co, Cu, Ni, and platinum group elements (PGE) are vital requirements for various green technology applications. These metals are essential components in rechargeable batteries, wind turbines, solar panels, electric vehicles, and for strategic applications. In this overview, we present a consolidat...

With the increasing frequency of extreme weather changes and emerging threats, environmental health is of great concern. Based on existing studies, the interaction among environmental health, climate change, COVID-19, and human health is obvious and complex. Depending on a systematic analysis of academic databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, M...

The role of fluids in the formation of large igneous provinces (LIPs) remains a topic of debate. The Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) in southwestern China, with a large volume of mafic intrusive and extrusive suites, provides an ideal window to explore this enigma. We predict the bulk rock characteristics of basalt and diabase in the ELIP us...

The relationship between granitoids and gold mineralization, particularly as a prospecting indicator, is a topic of longstanding debate. In this context, the world-class deposits of Jiaodong in the North China Craton provide a good window for exploring the spatio-temporal association between granite and gold mineralization. The Jiaodong goldfield i...

The Qinling Orogenic Belt of Central China hosts one of the world-class porphyry Mo belts (proven Mo resource of 8.43 Mt), several porphyry-skarn Cu and Au deposits, and abundant coeval barren granitoid intrusions. The mineralized porphyry systems of the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous periods are the major contributors to the metal resources tha...

Identification of possible factors that affect rare metal metallogenic potential is important for understanding of the genesis of rare metal granites and pegmatites. Here we determine the magma sources, oxygen fugacity conditions, temperatures, and halogen contents on which we evaluate the relationship between rare metal enrichment and magmatic-hyd...

Identifying the tectonic setting of rocks is essential for gaining insights into the geological contexts in which these rocks were formed, aiding in tectonic plate reconstruction and enhancing our comprehensive understanding of the Earth’s history. The application of machine learning algorithms helps identify complex patterns and relationships betw...

Volcanic episodes serve as precursors for the formation and evolution of continental crust and directly impact the mantle compositions. Here, we present elemental, zircon U-Pb and Sm-Nd isotopic datasets of published and newly generated data on the Archean volcanic sequences from the Dharwar Craton and constrain the thermal and chemical evolutio...

The geodynamic background of late Mesozoic magmatism in eastern Inner Mongolia remains debated owing to multi‐plate influences. Here, we present zircon U–Pb geochronology, geochemistry and Hf isotope data for Late Jurassic diorite and Early Cretaceous quartz monzonite porphyry and granite porphyry to investigate the petrogenesis and tectonic settin...

Basalts are ubiquitous mafic rocks found within diverse tectonic settings on Earth. Despite concerted efforts to distinguish tectonic settings through the chemical compositions of basalt, some features of these rocks related to tectonic processes can be obscured by weathering and erosion over geological time, making the discrimination results ambig...

During the Mesozoic, the North China Craton (NCC) especially the eastern part underwent significant destruction of its cratonic roots. During ∼125–120 Ma, the source of magmatism shifted from an ancient enriched lithospheric mantle to a juvenile depleted asthenospheric mantle. While this geochemical change is clear in the eastern NCC, it is unclear...

The Xiaoqinling gold province, located in the southern margin of the North China Craton (NCC), is the second largest gold-enriched region in China. In this region, the Mesozoic Huashan (HS) and Wenyu (WY) plutons are the major magmatic intrusions coeval with gold mineralization, although they show contrasting characteristics in the distribution of...

Unlike the gold deposits typically hosted in metamorphosed volcanic-sedimentary sequences, the recently discovered Axile gold deposit (over 13 t Au at 5.35 g/t) is a unique example in the Chinese Altai for evaluating the genesis of intrusion-hosted lode gold deposits in metamorphic terranes. The orebodies in this deposit occur as quartz veins and a...

In this study, we investigated Early Paleozoic magmatic rocks of the Manlai Formation exposed along the eastern margin of the Lancang terrane to better understand the tectonic history of the Proto-Tethys. We present petrological, geochemical and whole-rock Sr-Nd and zircon Hf isotopic data for basalts and gabbros sampled from the Qianmai mélange. Z...

The Sanhetun tellurium–gold (Te–Au) deposit, located in the Duobaoshan polymetallic metallogenic belt (DPMB) within the eastern section of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is a newly discovered small-scale gold deposit. The mineralization, with a resource of ≥4 t Au, is mainly hosted in three NNE-trending alteration zones between Early Carbo...

This book documents the heterogeneous distribution of metal resources as well as their industrial use. The main chapters explain the genesis and exploration of the respective mineral systems grouped into abundant, scarce, rare, trace, and precious metal systems based on their different crustal abundance. The book also discusses the temporal distrib...

The late Mesoarchean era was a critical period for the Earth's geodynamic regime. However, it remains unclear which geodynamic regime dominated this stage and how different geodynamic regimes transitioned or interacted with each other. From the perspective of crust-mantle interactions, effectively identifying different geodynamic regimes and establ...

Here, we report the occurrence of relict Neoarchean silico-carbonatites from the Elagiri complex (12°31′N: 78°35′E), Southern Granulite Terrane, Indian Shield, where they occur within leucosyenites as enclaves. Trace elements suggest that the silico-carbonatites and leuco-syenite are related through melting–crystallization episodes. U–Pb zircon age...

The link between mantle plumes and the formation of large igneous provinces (LIPs) is well established although the anatomy of these remains equivocal. Recent experimental studies and geophysical data suggest that the mantle plume head is more likely to be irregular and asymmetric, rather than an axisymmetric flattened disk. The Emeishan large igne...

Among various natural hazards, those induced by hydrological and meteorological factors have emerged as the most frequent and damaging. India is at the second from the top, after Bangladesh, of flood hazard-affected countries of the world, causing immense damage to life and property every year. The Middle Ganga Plain in the country is one of the mo...

The New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ) in the central United States is a seismically active intraplate region composed of two fault segments: the Reelfoot and Cottonwood Grove fault segments. It has witnessed several major earthquakes, including a devastating 1811–1812 earthquake sequence of three ~M7 events. Nearly 200 years later, earthquakes still c...

Research Highlights  Critical metals have potential for exhaustion or geopolitical issues in single countries.  Global demand for critical metals as components of modern clean energy machines enhanced.  Limited supply of critical metals causes a dilemma as they are unrecyclable. Abstract The global demand for metallic mineral resources has been...

Synthetic hematite (Fe2O3) nanoparticles are extensively explored for medicine, optics, and environmental remediation. However, natural iron nanoparticles in a freshwater ecosystem have not been well characterized. Here we report the presence of natural iron nanoparticles in a tropical freshwater ecosystem in southern India. These iron nanoparticle...

The Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic Proto-Tethys Ocean has preserved critical records of Earth’s evolutionary history. The Lower Cambrian detrital strata along the northern margin of the Yangtze Block provide valuable information for gaining insight into the evolution of the Proto-Tethys Ocean, which is important in understanding the collision between...

Salt deposits are indicative of relatively extreme climate events. However, due to insufficient independent temperature proxies, paleotemperature records obtained from salt deposition are still lack. The Paleocene evaporite sequence deposited in the Hongze Depression of Subei Basin of eastern China provides an important terrestrial sediment record...

IAGR Conference 2024

Tin deposits are predominantly associated with granitic rocks, yet the factors controlling tin enrichment in granites remain controversial. Here, we investigated the Daguanshan pluton within the central part of the Lincang batholith in the Lancangjiang zone, southwestern China, representing a northern extension of the Southeast Asian tin belt (span...

Landslides pose significant impact on human life and society such as loss of livelihood, destruction of infrastructure, and damage to natural resources around the world. Due to existing complications in conditional factors of landslide, mapping and predicting landslide occurrences with high accuracy needs more attention. In light of this, we aim to...

The South Andaman Island is located on the southeastern fringe of the Indian plate. Tectonically, the islands are associated with the Burma-Andaman-Java subduction zone of the Indonesian arc system. Several Mesozoic ophiolitic exposures are preserved in the Burma-Andaman-Java subduction zone. This study reports new petrological, geochemical, and zi...

The large-scale salt lakes widely distributed in the Tibetan Plateau provide unique and potential resources for lithium (Li) and boron (B). The concentration and characteristics of elements in these salt lakes resemble those found in geothermal water in northern Tibet, which highlights both as crucial sources of rare elements. This study presents c...

Plagioclase ultraphyric basalts (PUBs) are an important unit of the Abor magmatic complex (AMC) of the eastern Himalaya, containing ≥35 vol% plagioclase phenocrysts. Apart from the eastern region, PUBs have not been reported in any other part of the Himalayas. However, very little information is available about their origin and significance in the...

The widely distributed Devonian granitoids comprise a significant part of the crust in the Chinese Altai, although their petrogenetic implications remain debated. The Habahe Intrusion, comprising biotite granite batholith, gabbroic diorite dikes, and biotite granite hosted-enclaves, is a key magmatic unit to understand the extensively developed mag...

In the Dabie orogen, central China, the ultrahigh pressure metamorphism (UHPM) was best recorded from meta-mafic and ultramafic rocks occurring as lenses within voluminous amphibolite-facies metafelsic rocks. However, whether or not these metafelsic rocks experienced ultra-deep subduction (>5 GPa) has been rarely quantified because of the rare pres...

Pyrite is a ubiquitous mineral in many ore deposits and sediments, and its trace element composition is mainly controlled by temperature, oxygen fugacity, pH, compositions of fluids, and host rock composition. A discriminant analysis (DA), based on multi-element compositions of pyrite, distinguishes iron oxide-apatite (IOA), iron oxide copper-gold...

The Sanhetun tellurium-gold (Te-Au) deposit, located in the Duobaoshan polymetallic metallogenic belt (DPMB) within the eastern section of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), is a newly discovered small scale gold deposit. The mineralization, with resource of ≥ 4t Au, is mainly hosted in 3 NNE-trending alteration zones between granitic mylonite...

Sedimentary carbonates are known to be carried into the deep mantle by subducted slabs, and studies on mantle‐derived magmas have attempted to trace the recycled carbonate in their mantle source. However, the final depth of storage of recycled carbonate and the role of recycled carbonate in the partial melting of mantle remain controversial. Peralk...

Plume-derived high-MgO lavas provide important information on the lithological, thermal and chemical variations of Earth’s deep mantle. Here we present results from detailed field, mineralogical and geochemical studies of Late Permian–Late Triassic high-MgO lavas near the Chalukou area in the Western Kunlun (WK) orogenic belt, NW China. The major e...

Determining the association of Pb–Zn(-Ag) mineralization with granite is crucial for understanding metallogeny and identifying exploration targets. The genesis of Pb–Zn-Ag-Sb deposits and their genetic association with Sb(-Au) deposits and granite-associated Sn-W deposits in the Tethys Himalaya of southern Tibet, China, remains controversial. Our c...

Analysis of optical microscopic image data is crucial for the identification and characterization of mineral phases, and thus directly relevant to the subsequent methodology selections of further detailed petrological exploration. Here we present a novel application of Swin Transformer, a deep learning algorithm to classify metal mineral phases suc...

Molybdenum (Mo) is an important globally strategic metal and mostly occurs as molybdenite (MoS2) in diverse Mo deposits. The Yuku ore field includes multiple porphyry-skarn Mo deposits and forms an significant world-class Mo cluster in the Qinling molybdenum belt, central China. Previous studies on the ore field were largely related to its genesis,...

To clarify the species of uranium and its effect on the safety assessment in the disposal of high-level radioactive wastes (HLWs), we presented geochemical simulations of Beishan deep groundwater in Gansu Province, China. The Ca–UO2–CO3 complexes are the main species. They can decrease the blocking of granites on uranium, which is unfavorable for t...

The 2.45–2.20 Ga period during the early Paleoproterozoic era is considered to have witnessed a global “Tectono-Magmatic Lull (TML)” and thus marks a relatively quiescent period. Our study unveils a 2.45–2.20 Ga magmatic suite from the Xiong’ershan area in the southern North China Craton, offering some key constraints on localized active tectonics...

Space syntax is utilized to model flows through open and closed built environments, which enables project innovation by rethinking the design of spaces on a global scale with better flow quality. Therefore, studies focused on spatial syntax, when related to comprehensive flows in open and closed spaces, provide a holistic and valuable understanding...

Identifying the tectonic setting of formation of rocks is an essential component in the field of geosciences. The conventional approach is to employ standard tectonic discrimination diagrams based on elemental correlations and ratios, which sometimes are plagued with uncertainties and limitations. The application of machine learning algorithms base...

The development of earth fissures, which are linear fractures with openings or offsets on the land surface, can severely affect landforms, especially in urban areas, in the form of earthquakes causing major concern on human lives as well as damage to infrastructures. Thus, an early warning map for lands susceptible to earth fissures can better equi...

The products of Cenozoic continental arc magmatism in Iran provide an outstanding natural laboratory for investigating subduction-related processes. Here we present whole rock, Srsingle bondNd isotopic, zircon U–Pb–Hf age, and mineral composition data for Cenozoic intrusive rocks from the Natanz area, central Urumieh–Dokhtar magmatic arc (UDMA), wi...

The application of Artificial Intelligence in various fields has witnessed tremendous progress in the recent years. The field of geosciences and natural hazard modelling has also benefitted immensely from the introduction of novel algorithms, the availability of large quantities of data, and the increase in computational capacity. The enhancement i...

The North Qilian Orogen witnessed the opening, subduction, and closure of the Proto-Tethys Qilian Ocean and the post-subduction of multiple exhumation events from Late Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic. The Early Paleozoic dioritic-granitic magmatic suites, prominently exposed in the eastern North Qilian Orogen, offer valuable insights into the evo...

Rubidium (Rb) deposits mostly occur in the South China and Central Asia orogenic belts and are often closely associated with highly differentiated granites. This study investigates a newly‐discovered giant Rb deposit at Gariatong in the Central Lhasa terrane in Tibet. Detailed field studies and logging data revealed that the Rb mineralization mainl...