Two stages of granite formation in the Sredinny Range, Kamchatka: Tectonic and geodynamic setting of granitic rocks

The newly formed continental crust in southern Kamchatka was created as a result of the Eocene collision of the Cretaceous-Paleocene Achaivayam-Valagin island arc and the northeastern Asian margin. Widespread migmatization and granite formation accompanied this process in the Sredinny Range of Kamchatka. The tectonic setting and composition of granitic rocks in the Malka Uplift of the Sredinny Range are characterized in detail, and the U-Pb (SHRIMP) zircon ages are discussed. Two main stages of granite formation—Campanian (80–78 Ma ago) and Eocene (52 ± 2 Ma ago) have been established. It may be suggested that granite formation in the Campanian was related to the partial melting of the accretionary wedge due to its under-plating by mafic material or to plunging of the oceanic ridge beneath the accretionary wedge. The Eocene granitic rocks were formed owing to the collision of the Achaivayam-Valagin ensimatic island arc with the Kamchatka margin of Eurasia. In southern Kamchatka (Malka Uplift of the Sredinny Range), the arc-continent collision started 55–53 Ma ago. As a result, the island-arc complexes were thrust over terrigenous sequences of the continental margin. The thickness of the allochthon was sufficient to plunge the autochthon to a considerable depth. The autochthon and the lower portion of the allochthon underwent high-grade metamorphism followed by partial melting and emplacement of granitic magma 52 ± 2 Ma ago. The anomalously rapid heating of the crust was probably caused by the ascent of asthenospheric magma initiated by slab breakoff, while the Eurasian Plate plunged beneath the Achaivayam-Valagin arc.     

Tectonics of the Longmen Shan and Adjacent Regions,Central China

The Longmen Shan region includes, from west to east, the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the eastern part of the eastern Sichuan fold-and-thrust belt. In the northeast, it merges with the Micang Shan, a part of the Qinling Mountains. The Longmen Shan region can be divided into two major tectonic elements: (1) an autochthon/parautochthon, which underlies the easternmost part of the Tibetan Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the eastern Sichuan fold-and-thrust belt; and (2) a complex allochthon, which underlies the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau. The allochthon was emplaced toward the southeast during Late Triassic time, and it and the western part of the autochthon/parautochthon were modified by Cenozoic deformation.

The autochthon/parautochthon was formed from the western part of the Yangtze platform and consists of a Proterozoic basement covered by a thin, incomplete succession of Late Proterozoic to Middle Triassic shallow-marine and nonmarine sedimentary rocks interrupted by Permian extension and basic magmatism in the southwest. The platform is bounded by continental margins that formed in Silurian time to the west and in Late Proterozoic time to the north. Within the southwestern part of the platform is the narrow N-trending Kungdian high, a paleogeographic unit that was positive during part of Paleozoic time and whose crest is characterized by nonmarine Upper Triassic rocks unconformably overlying Proterozoic basement.

In the western part of the Longmen Shan region, the allochthon is composed mainly of a very thick succession of strongly folded Middle and Upper Triassic Songpan Ganzi flysch. Along the eastern side and at the base of the allochthon, pre-Upper Triassic rocks crop out, forming the only exposures of the western margin of the Yangtze platform. Here, Upper Proterozoic to Ordovician, mainly shallow-marine rocks unconformably overlie Yangtze-type Proterozic basement rocks, but in Silurian time a thick section of fine-grained clastic and carbonate rocks were deposited, marking the initial subsidence of the western Yangtze platform and formation of a continental margin. Similar deep-water rocks were deposited throughout Devonian to Middle Triassic time, when Songpan Ganzi flysch deposition began. Permian conglomerate and basic volcanic rocks in the southeastern part of the allochthon indicate a second period of extension along the continental margin. Evidence suggests that the deep-water region along and west of the Yangtze continental margin was underlain mostly by thin continental crust, but its westernmost part may have contained areas underlain by oceanic crust. In the northern part of the Longmen Shan allochthon, thick Devonian to Upper Triassic shallow-water deposits of the Xue Shan platform are flanked by deep-marine rocks and the platform is interpreted to be a fragment of the Qinling continental margin transported westward during early Mesozoic transpressive tectonism.

In the Longmen Shan region, the allochthon, carrying the western part of the Yangtze continental margin and Songpan Ganzi flysch, was emplaced to the southeast above rocks of the Yangtze platform autochthon. The eastern margin of the allochthon in the northern Longmen Shan is unconformably overlapped by both Lower and Middle Jurassic strata that are continuous with rocks of the autochthon. Folded rocks of the allochthon are unconformably overlapped by Lower and Middle Jurassic rocks in rare outcrops in the northern part of the region. They also are extensively intruded by a poorly dated, generally undeformed belt, of plutons whose ages (mostly K/Ar ages) range from Late Triassic to early Cenozoic, but most of the reliable ages are early Mesozoic. All evidence indicates that the major deformation within the allochthon is Late Triassic/Early Jurassic in age (Indosinian). The eastern front of the allochthon trends southwest across the present mountain front, so it lies along the mountain front in the northeast, but is located well to the west of the present mountain front on the south.

The Late Triassic deformation is characterized by upright to overturned folded and refolded Triassic flysch, with generally NW-trending axial traces in the western part of the region. Folds and thrust faults curve to the north when traced to the east, so that along the eastern front of the allochthon structures trend northeast, involve pre-Triassic rocks, and parallel the eastern boundary of the allochthon. The curvature of structural trends is interpreted as forming part of a left-lateral transpressive boundary developed during emplacement of the allochthon. Regionally, the Longmen Shan lies along a NE-trending transpressive margin of the Yangtze platform within a broad zone of generally N-S shortening. North of the Longmen Shan region, northward subduction led to collision of the South and North China continental fragments along the Qinling Mountains, but northwest of the Longmen Shan region, subduction led to shortening within the Songpan Ganzi flysch basin, forming a detached fold-and-thrust belt. South of the Longmen Shan region, the flysch basin is bounded by the Shaluli Shan/Chola Shan arc—an originally Sfacing arc that reversed polarity in Late Triassic time, leading to shortening along the southern margin of the Songpan Ganzi flysch belt. Shortening within the flysch belt was oblique to the Yangtze continental margin such that the allochthon in the Longmen Shan region was emplaced within a left-lateral transpressive environment. Possible clockwise rotation of the Yangtze platform (part of the South China continental fragment) also may have contributed to left-lateral transpression with SE-directed shortening. During left-lateral transpression, the Xue Shan platform was displaced southwestward from the Qinling orogen and incorporated into the Longmen Shan allochthon. Westward movement of the platform caused complex refolding in the northern part of the Longmen Shan region.

Emplacement of the allochthon flexurally loaded the western part of the Yangtze platform autochthon, forming a Late Triassic foredeep. Foredeep deposition, often involving thick conglomerate units derived from the west, continued from Middle Jurassic into Cretaceous time, although evidence for deformation of this age in the allochthon is generally lacking.

Folding in the eastern Sichuan fold-and-thrust belt along the eastern side of the Sichuan Basin can be dated as Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous in age, but only in areas 100 km east of the westernmost folds. Folding and thrusting was related to convergent activity far to the east along the eastern margin of South China. The westernmost folds trend southwest and merge to the south with folds and locally form refolded folds that involve Upper Cretaceous and lower Cenozoic rocks. The boundary between Cenozoic and late Mesozoic folding on the eastern and southern margins of the Sichuan Basin remains poorly determined.

The present mountainous eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in the Longmen Shan region is a consequence of Cenozoic deformation. It rises within 100 km from 500–600 m in the Sichuan Basin to peaks in the west reaching 5500 m and 7500 m in the north and south, respectively. West of these high peaks is the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau, an area of low relief at an elevations of about 4000 m.

Cenozoic deformation can be demonstrated in the autochthon of the southern Longmen Shan, where the stratigraphic sequence is without an angular unconformity from Paleozoic to Eocene or Oligocene time. During Cenozoic deformation, the western part of the Yangtze platform (part of the autochthon for Late Triassic deformation) was deformed into a N- to NE-trending foldandthrust belt. In its eastern part the fold-thrust belt is detached near the base of the platform succession and affects rocks within and along the western and southern margin of the Sichuan Basin, but to the west and south the detachment is within Proterozoic basement rocks. The westernmost structures of the fold-thrust belt form a belt of exposed basement massifs. During the middle and later part of the Cenozoic deformation, strike-slip faulting became important; the fold-thrust belt became partly right-lateral transpressive in the central and northeastern Longmen Shan. The southern part of the fold-thrust belt has a more complex evolution. Early Nto NE-trending folds and thrust faults are deformed by NW-trending basementinvolved folds and thrust faults that intersect with the NE-trending right-lateral strike-slip faults. Youngest structures in this southern area are dominated by left-lateral transpression related to movement on the Xianshuihe fault system.

The extent of Cenozoic deformation within the area underlain by the early Mesozoic allochthon remains unknown, because of the absence of rocks of the appropriate age to date Cenozoic deformation. Klippen of the allochthon were emplaced above the Cenozoic fold-andthrust belt in the central part of the eastern Longmen Shan, indicating that the allochthon was at least partly reactivated during Cenozoic time. Only in the Min Shan in the northern part of the allochthon is Cenozoic deformation demonstrated along two active zones of E-W shortening and associated left-slip. These structures trend obliquely across early Mesozoic structures and are probably related to shortening transferred from a major zone of active left-slip faulting that trends through the western Qinling Mountains. Active deformation is along the left-slip transpressive NW-trending Xianshuihe fault zone in the south, right-slip transpression along several major NE-trending faults in the central and northeastern Longmen Shan, and E-W shortening with minor left-slip movement along the Min Jiang and Huya fault zones in the north.

Our estimates of Cenozoic shortening along the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau appear to be inadequate to account for the thick crust and high elevation of the plateau. We suggest here that the thick crust and high elevation is caused by lateral flow of the middle and lower crust eastward from the central part of the plateau and only minor crustal shortening in the upper crust. Upper crustal structure is largely controlled in the Longmen Shan region by older crustal anisotropics; thus shortening and eastward movement of upper crustal material is characterized by irregular deformation localized along older structural boundaries.     

Geodynamics of the northwestern sector of the pacific mobile belt in the Late Cretaceous-Early Paleogene

In the Late Cretaceous starting from the early Coniacian, three parallel suprasubduction structural units have developed contemporaneously in the northwestern Paleopacific framework: (1) the Okhotsk-Chukchi arc at the Asian continental margin, (2) the West Kamchatka and Essoveem ensialic arcs at the northwestern margins of the Kamchatka and Central Koryak continental blocks, and (3) the Achaivayam-Valagin ensimatic arc that extended to the southwest as the Lesser Kuril ensialic arc at the southern margin of the Sea of Okhotsk continental block. In this setting, the geodynamics of the Paleopacific plates exerted an effect only on the evolution of the outer (relative to the continent) ensimatic island arc, whereas the vast inner region between this arc and the continent evolved independently. As is seen from the character of the gravity field and seismic refractor velocity, the Kamchatka and Sea of Okhotsk continental blocks differ in the structure of the consolidated crust. These blocks collided with each other and the Asian continent in the middle Campanian (77 Ma ago). The extensive pre-Paleogene land that existed on the place of the present-day Sea of Okhotsk probably supplied the terrigenous material deposited since the late Campanian on the oceanic crust of the backarc basin to the south of the rise of inner continental blocks as the Khozgon, Lesnaya, and Ukelayat flysch complexes. The accretion of the Olyutor (Achaivayam) and Valagin segments of the ensimatic arc had different consequences due to the difference in thickness of the Earth’s crust. The Valagin segment was formed on an older basement and had a much greater thickness of the crust than the Olyutor segment. As follows from computations and the results of physical modeling, the island arcs having crust more than 25 km in thickness collide with the continental margin and are thrust over the latter. In the case under consideration, the thrusting of the Valagin segment led to metamorphism of the underlying rocks. The crust of the Olyutor segment was much thinner. The contact of this segment with the continental margin resulted only in surficial accretion, which did not bring about metamorphism, and the underlying lithospheric plate continued to plunge into the subduction zone.     

Cenozoic geodynamics of the Bering Sea region

In the Early Cenozoic before origination of the Aleutian subduction zone 50–47 Ma ago, the northwestern (Asian) and northeastern (North American) parts of the continental framework of the Pacific Ocean were active continental margins. In the northwestern part, the island-arc situation, which arose in the Coniacian, remained with retention of the normal lateral series: continent-marginal sea-island arc-ocean. In the northeastern part, consumption of the oceanic crust beneath the southern margin of the continental Bering shelf also continued from the Late Cretaceous with the formation of the suprasubduction volcanic belt. The northwestern and northeastern parts of the Paleopacific were probably separated by a continuation of the Kula-Pacific Transform Fracture Zone. Change of the movement of the Pacific oceanic plates from the NNW to NW in the middle Eocene (50–47 Ma ago) was a cause of the origin of the Aleutian subduction zone and related Aleutian island arc. In the captured part of the Paleopacific (proto-Bering Sea), the ongoing displacement of North America relative to Eurasia in the middle-late Eocene gave rise to the formation of internal structural elements of the marginal sea: the imbricate nappe structure of the Shirshov Ridge and the island arc of the Bowers Ridge. The Late Cenozoic evolution was controlled by subduction beneath the Kamchatka margin and its convergence with the Kronotsky Terrane in the south. A similar convergence of the Koryak margin with the Goven Terrane occurred in the north. The Komandorsky minor oceanic basin opened in the back zone of this terrane. Paleotectonic reconstructions for 68–60, 56–52, 50–38, 30–15, and 15–6 Ma are presented.     

Collision of the Kronotskiy arc at the NE Eurasia margin and structural evolution of the Kamchatka–Aleutian junction

Structural evolution of the Kamchatka–Aleutian junction area in late Mesozoic and Tertiary was generally controlled by (1) the processes of subduction in Kronotskiy and Proto-Kamchatka subduction zones and (2) collision of the Kronotskiy arc against NE Eurasia margin. Two structural zones of the pre-Pliocene age and six structural assemblages are recognized in studied region. 1: Eastern ranges zone comprises SE-vergent thrust folded belt, which evolved in accretionary and collisional setting. Two structural assemblages (ER1 and ER2), developed there, document shortening in the NW–SE direction and in the N–S direction, respectively. 2: Eastern Peninsulas zone generally corresponds to Kronotskiy arc terrane. Four structural assemblages are recognized in this zone. They characterize (1) precollisional deformations in the accretionary wedge (EP1) and in the fore-arc basin and volcanic belt (EP2), and (2) syn-collisional deformation of the entire Kronotskiy terrane in plunging folds (EP3) and deformations in the foreland basin (EP4). Analysis of paleomagnetic declinations versus present day structural strike in the Kronotskiy arc terrane shows that originally the arc was trending from west to east. Relative position of the accretionary wedge, fore-arc basin and volcanic belt, as well as northward dipping thrusts in accretionary wedge indicate, that a northward dipping subduction zone was located south of the arc. The accretionary wedge developed from the Late Cretaceous through the Eocene, and it implies that the subduction zone maintained its direction and position during this time. It implies that Kronotskiy arc was neither a part of the Pacific nor Kula plates and was located on an individual smaller plate, which included the arc and Vetlovka back-arc basin. Motion of the Kronotskiy arc towards Eurasia was connected only with NW-directed subduction at Kamchatka margin since Middle Eocene (42–44 Ma). Emplacement of the Kronotskiy arc at the Kamchatka margin occurred between Late Eocene and Early Miocene. This is based on the age of syn-collisional plunging folds in Kronotskiy terrane, and provenance data for the Upper Eocene to Middle Miocene Tyushevka basin, which indicate in situ evolution of the basin with respect to Kamchatka. Collision was controlled by the common motion of the Kronotskiy arc with Pacific plate towards the northwest, and by the motion of the Eurasian margin towards the south. The latter motion was responsible for the southward deflection of the western part of the Kronotskiy arc (EP3 structures), and for oblique transpressional structures in the collisional belt (ER2 structures).     

天山南北缘前陆冲断构造对比研究及其油气藏形成的构造控制因素分析

天山南北缘分别发育了库车前陆冲断带和乌鲁木齐前陆冲断带,南缘前陆冲断带发育4排褶皱冲断构造,北缘前陆冲断带发育3排褶皱冲断构造。天山南北缘前陆冲断构造形成时间的对比研究表明,南缘第一排构造带起始时间为23.3Ma,构造形变从山前由北向南依次展开;北缘第一排构造带的形成时限为10~8Ma,构造形变从山前开始由南向北依次展开。平衡剖面研究表明,天山南北缘地壳缩短率也存在明显差异,南缘前陆冲断带地壳缩短率为31%~59%,北缘前陆冲断带地壳缩短率为15.13%~23.74%,南缘构造缩短量要大于北缘,这种差异正是印度板块和欧亚板块碰撞的远距离构造效应从南向北传播造成的,也真实反映了天山的陆内造山过程。目前天山南缘前陆变形构造中已经发现几个规模较大的油气田,北缘虽有多处油气显示和油气田的发现,但数量和规模均较南缘少和小。天山南北缘生储盖等石油地质条件基本相似,大型油气藏形成的差异可能主要是由天山南北缘前陆冲断带启动时间的不同造成的。     

青海拉鸡山:一个多阶段抬升的构造窗

拉鸡山断裂带位于祁连山褶皱带内,呈北西-南东向延伸.后者构成青藏高原的东北边缘,由三个主要构造单元组成:北部是一条早古生代的板块缝合带,中部是一个元古代的结晶地块,南部由一套晚古生代到三叠纪的被动大陆边缘沉积物组成.对拉鸡山及其邻区的构造研究结果表明,祁连山褶皱带在古生代加里东期发生过大规模的缩短,北祁连的早古生代蛇绿岩和岛弧火山岩沿祁连山中央冲断层向南,陆内俯冲到中祁连元古界变质杂岩之下.由于发生在晚古生代和晚中生代的陆内变形,位于中祁连之下的北祁连的蛇绿岩和岛弧火山岩发生褶皱,并被抬升到地表.到新生代,由于印度板块和欧亚大陆之间的碰撞和陆内汇聚作用,拉鸡山断裂带再次活动,这些下古生界蛇绿岩和岛弧火山岩通过冲断作用快速抬升,将中祁连地块一分为二.因此,拉鸡山是一个抬升的构造窗,不是一个中祁连结晶地块中的早古生代大陆裂谷.     

武夷山北缘断裂带动力学研究

华南武夷山北缘边界被绍兴－兴山－东乡断裂带所限。该断裂带到少保留了三期构造事件的形迹，第一期发生在８００Ｍａ～９００Ｍａ的晚元古代，呈ＮＷ向ＳＥ的区域推覆韧剪变形运动，以构造混杂岩和区域绿片岩相－角闪岩相变质，强烈的褶皱和韧剪变形为特征，对应于古洋盆关闭，华南复合地体与江南岛弧撞焊接过程，第二期发生在４５８Ｍａ～４２１Ｍａ的志留纪，表现为从北向南的韧剪变形运动，伴有左旋走滑韧性剪切，以糜棱岩化和进变质作用为特征．黒云母多变为硅线石。该期变形使第一期构造形迹被强烈选加置换。其动力学背景与闽东南地体朝武夷山的拼贴增生事件有关。第三期属中生代陆内变形，是一种高构造位的左旋走滑脆性剪切，以岩石的破裂和岩块的水平位移为特征．并具转换拉伸性质，导致中生代火山沉积盆地的形成。     

江南造山带东段新元古代至早中生代多期造山作用特征

新元古代江南造山带远离晚中生代活动大陆边缘,是研究华南地区新元古代至早中生代多期造山作用的理想对象。文章通过对江南造山带东段沉积建造、岩浆活动、构造变形以及同位素年代学数据的综合分析,总结了其晋宁期、广西期以及印支期造山作用的特征。江南造山带东段在晋宁期经历了南北两侧大洋俯冲和两期碰撞造山作用。新元古代早期(880~860 Ma)双溪坞岛弧与扬子陆块东南缘发生弧-陆碰撞作用,形成淡色花岗岩、高压蓝片岩、NNE向褶皱-逆冲构造以及弧后前陆盆地。新元古代中期(约850 Ma),扬子陆块北缘开始发育由北向南的大洋俯冲。随着俯冲作用的进行,弧后盆地发生关闭,扬子陆块与华夏陆块发生陆-陆碰撞并形成新元古代(820~810Ma)江南造山带,导致近E-W走向褶皱-逆冲构造、韧性变形以及过铝质花岗岩的发育。江南造山带东段在约810Ma开始发生后造山垮塌和裂谷作用,以发育南华纪早期(805~750 Ma)花岗岩、中酸性火山岩、基性岩以及裂谷盆地为特征。江南造山带东段万载—南昌—景德镇—歙县断裂带以南地区卷入了华南广西期造山作用,发育近E-W走向由南向北的逆冲构造(465~450 Ma)、NNE向正花状构造(449~430 Ma)以及后造山近E-W走向韧性走滑剪切带(429~380 Ma)。印支期造山作用导致了NNE向褶皱-逆冲构造和花岗岩的发育,并奠定了江南造山带东段的基本构造面貌。     

天山东段尾亚地区白尖山超单元特征

早石炭世白尖山超单元横亘于尾亚站东西两侧，沙泉子断裂以南的狭长地带（研究区长５０余千米，宽３～６ｋｍ）。它是北部觉洛塔格早石炭世火山型被动陆缘与其南（以沙泉子断裂为界）卡瓦布拉克古陆块汇聚事件的产物。这次事件导致沿卡瓦布拉克地块北缘成线状分布的巨大岩基链的形成，即该带事实上成为一个活动陆缘弧──白尖山岩浆弧（白尖山超单元）。根据各岩石单元的接触关系，白尖山超单元由早至晚为辉长岩—石英闪长岩—花岗闪长岩—二长花岗岩—钾长花岗岩—碱长花岗岩。从沙泉子断裂向南，大体上反映出偏基性的石英闪长岩单元偏北侧分布，钾长花岗岩及碱长花岗岩单元偏南分布，表现出当时碰撞带的特性。由于晚石炭世末受到韧性剪切作用，大部分产生塑性变形，成为初糜棱岩—超糜棱岩的花岗质岩石，宏观上似具片麻状构造。无论从岩石学、岩石化学及地球化学特征方面来看，均具同源岩浆演化的特征。白尖山超单元侵入于含早石炭世动物化石的卡拉火大山组中，被二叠纪尾亚超单元组合（原尾亚岩体）侵入，测定Ｕ—Ｐｂ同位素年龄为３３８．４Ｍａ及３２５．２４Ｍａ，从而确定白尖山超单元形成时代为早石炭世。     

The geodynamics of the Pamir-Punjab syntaxis

The collision of Hindustan with Eurasia in the Oligocene-early Miocene resulted in the rearrangement of the convective system in the upper mantle of the Pamir-Karakoram margin of the Eurasian Plate with subduction of the Hindustan continental lithosphere beneath this margin. The Pamir-Punjab syntaxis was formed in the Miocene as a giant horizontal extrusion (protrusion). Extensive nappes developed in the southern and central Pamirs along with deformation of its outer zone. The Pamir-Punjab syntaxis continued to form in the Pliocene-Quaternary when the deformed Pamirs, which propagated northward, were being transformed into a giant allochthon. A fold-nappe system was formed in the outer zone of the Pamirs at the front of this allochthon. A geodynamic model of syntaxis formation is proposed here.     

The cheyenne belt: analysis of a proterozoic suture in Southern Wyoming

The Cheyenne belt of southeastern Wyoming is a major shear zone which separates Archean rocks of the Wyoming province to the north from 1800-1600 Ma old eugeoclinal gneisses to the south. Miogeoclinal rocks (2500-2000 Ma old) unconformably overlie Archean basement immediately north of the shear zone and were deposited under transgressive conditions along a rift-formed continental margin. Intrusive tholeiitic sills and dikes are interpreted as rift-related intrusions and a date of 2000 Ma on a felsic differentiate of these intrusions gives the approximate age of rifting. There are no known post-2000 Ma felsic intrusions north of the Cheyenne belt.Volcanogenic gneisses and abundant syntectonic calc-alkaline plutons of the southern terrane are interpreted as island are volcanic and plutonic rocks. The volcanics are a bimodal basalt-rhyolite assemblage. Plutons include large gabbroic complexes and quartz diorite (1780 Ma), syntectonic granitoids (1730-1630 Ma) and post-tectonic anorthosite and granite (1400 Ma). There is no evidence for Archean crust south of the Cheyenne belt.Structural data (thrusts in the miogeoclinal rocks, vertical stretching lineations, and the same fold geometries north and south of the shear zone) suggest that juxtaposition of the two terranes took place by thrusting of the southern terrane (island arc) over the northern terrane (craton and miogeocline), probably as a continuation of the south-dipping subduction which generated calc-alkaline plutons of the southern terrane. A metamorphic discontinuity across the shear zone, with greenschist facies rocks to the north and upper amphibolite facies rocks and migmatites to the south, also suggests thrusting of the southern terrane (deeper crustal levels) over the northern terrane (shallower levels).The Cheyenne belt may be a deeply-eroded master decollement, perhaps analogous to a ramp in the master decollement in the southern Appalachians. This interpretation of the Cheyenne belt as a Proterozoic suture zone provides an explanation for the geologic, geochronologic, geophysical, metallogenic, and metamorphic discontinuities across the shear zone.     

A Large-Scale Palaeozoic Dextral Ductile Strike-Slip Zone:the Aqqikkudug-Weiya Zone along the Northern Margin of the Central Tianshan Belt,Xinjiang,NW China

The nearly E-W-trending Aqqikkudug-Weiya zone, more than 1000 km long and about 30 km wide, is an important segment in the Central Asian tectonic framework. It is distributed along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan belt in Xinjiang, NW China and is composed of mylonitized Early Palaeozoic greywacke, volcanic rocks, ophiolitic blocks as a mélange complex, HP/LT-type bleuschist blocks and mylonitized Neoproterozoic schist, gneiss and orthogneiss. Nearly vertical mylonitic foliation and sub-horizontal stretching lineation define its strike-slip feature; various kinematic indicators, such as asymmetric folds, non-coaxial asymmetric macro- to micro-structures and C-axis fabrics of quartz grains of mylonites, suggest that it is a dextral strike-slip ductile shear zone oriented in a nearly E-W direction characterized by "flower" strusture with thrusting or extruding across the zone toward the two sides and upright folds with gently plunging hinges. The Aqqikkudug-Weiya zone experienced at least two stages of ductile shear tectonic evolution: Early Palaeozoic north vergent thrusting ductile shear and Late Carboniferous-Early Permian strike-slip deformation. The strike-slip ductile shear likely took place during Late Palaeozoic time, dated at 269(5 Ma by the40Ar/39Ar analysis on neo-muscovites. The strike-slip deformation was followed by the Hercynian violent S-type granitic magmatism. Geodynamical analysis suggests that the large-scale dextral strike-slip ductile shearing is likely the result of intracontinental adjustment deformation after the collision of the Siberian continental plate towards the northern margin of the Tarim continental plate during the Late Carboniferous. The Himalayan tectonism locally deformed the zone, marked by final uplift, brittle layer-slip and step-type thrust faults, transcurrent faults and E-W-elongated Mesozoic-Cenozoic basins.     

Age assessments for siliciclastic metasediments of the Bodonchin tectonic sheet, the South Altai metamorphic belt

In South Mongolia, the Hercynian structures of a linear collisional thrust-and-fold zone formed in the Carboniferous are bounded by the Caledonides of Central and North Mongolia on the north, being truncated on the south by the Indosinides of the Inner Mongolia. Tectonic sheets of the Caledonides-Hercynides junction zone confined to southern flank of the Mongolian-Gobi Altai are composed of high-gradient metamorphites of the South Altai metamorphic belt. The belt of these rocks traceable northwestward in China and eastern Kazakhstan delineates margin of the North Asian Caledonian paleocontinent. According to results of the previous geochronological study, the high- and low-gradient metamorphic rocks of the belt originated respectively 385 and 360–370 Ma ago. However, tectonic position of crystalline rock sequences, which have not been dated, remains unclear. Geochronological interval postulated for these rocks is very broad, ranging from the Early Precambrian to the Devonian. Dating results obtained in this work for detrital zircons from siliciclastic metasediments of the Bodonchin tectonic sheet of the belt show that their protoliths accumulated during the time span of 460–390 Ma (Late Ordovician-Early Devonian) on a passive continental margin. Transformation of the latter into active continental margin took place in the Early Devonian, when development of the Siberian subduction zone resulted in formation of the South Altai metamorphic belt at deep crustal levels of the Caledonian paleocontinent.     

Tectonometamorphic evolution of the Neoproterozoic Delgo suture zone,Northern Sudan

In the area around Delgo in north-east Sudan a narrow NNE-trending Neoproterozoic belt of low grade volcanosedimentary rocks is fringed by high grade migmatitic basement blocks. The volcanosedimentary sequence is structurally overlain by a rock body of several kilometres length, which is composed of metamorphosed ultramafic and mafic rocks. This sequence is interpreted as an island arc-ophiolite association representing a suture zone.With respect to their degrees of metamorphism and their structural characteristics, the lithological units of the Delgo area are significantly different from the adjacent basement rocks in the east and west. The lithological contacts of the metavolcanic-metasedimentary rocks with the basement rocks are often marked by intermediate-dipping mylonites which are locally overprinted by ductile to brittle-ductile strike-slip faults.The Delgo suture evolved through the subduction-related closure of an oceanic basin and final collision of the island arc with the migmatitic basement blocks on either side of the oceanic basin. Peak metamorphism of deeply buried back-arc basin sequences occurred at around 700 Ma ago. During the collision stage, island arc rocks, passive margin sequences and ophiolitic rocks were thrust to the east and west over the basement blocks, causing limited crustal thickening and a minor isostatic rebound.Lithospheric extension associated with increasing heat flow caused migmatization in the basement between ca. 580 and 540 Ma ago. The development of numerous intermediate-dipping mylonitic shear zones at decreasing temperatures post-dates the migmatization. Lithospheric extension may explain the juxtaposition of rocks which were formed and/or metamorphosed at significantly different crustal levels.     

Tethyan and Indian subduction viewed from the Himalayan high- to ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks

The Himalayan range is one of the best documented continent-collisional belts and provides a natural laboratory for studying subduction processes. High-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure rocks with origins in a variety of protoliths occur in various settings: accretionary wedge, oceanic subduction zone, subducted continental margin and continental collisional zone. Ages and locations of these high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure rocks along the Himalayan belt allow us to evaluate the evolution of this major convergent zone.

(1) Cretaceous (80–100 Ma) blueschists and possibly amphibolites in the Indus Tsangpo Suture zone represent an accretionary wedge developed during the northward subduction of the Tethys Ocean beneath the Asian margin. Their exhumation occurred during the subduction of the Tethys prior to the collision between the Indian and Asian continents.

(2) Eclogitic rocks with unknown age are reported at one location in the Indus Tsangpo Suture zone, east of the Nanga Parbat syntaxis. They may represent subducted Tethyan oceanic lithosphere.

(3) Ultrahigh-pressure rocks on both sides of the western syntaxis (Kaghan and Tso Morari massifs) formed during the early stage of subduction/exhumation of the Indian northern margin at the time of the Paleocene–Eocene boundary.

(4) Granulitized eclogites in the Lesser Himalaya Sequence in southern Tibet formed during the Paleogene underthrusting of the Indian margin beneath southern Tibet, and were exhumed in the Miocene.

These metamorphic rocks provide important constraints on the geometry and evolution of the India–Asia convergent zone during the closure of the Tethys Ocean. The timing of the ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in the Tso Morari massif indicates that the initial contact between the Indian and Asian continents likely occurred in the western syntaxis at 57 ± 1 Ma. West of the western syntaxis, the Higher Himalayan Crystallines were thinned. Rocks equivalent to the Lesser Himalayan Sequence are present north of the Main Central Thrust. Moreover, the pressure metamorphism in the Kaghan massif in the western part of the syntaxis took place later, 7 m.y. after the metamorphism in the eastern part, suggesting that the geometry of the initial contact between the Indian and Asian continents was not linear. The northern edge of the Indian continent in the western part was 300 to 350 km farther south than the area east of the Nanga Parbat syntaxis. Such “en baionnette” geometry is probably produced by north-trending transform faults that initially formed during the Late Paleozoic to Cretaceous Gondwana rifting. Farther east in the southern Tibet, the collision occurred before 50.6 ± 0.2 Ma. Finally, high-pressure to ultrahigh-pressure rocks in the western Himalaya formed and exhumed in steep subduction compared to what is now shown in tomographic images and seismologic data.     

澜沧江南带三叠纪火山岩岩石学、地球化学特征、Ar-Ar年代学研究及其构造意义

滇西三江地区澜沧江南带广泛发育三叠纪火山岩。在北部云县一带,中晚三叠世火山岩出露齐全,自下而上可划分为中三叠统忙怀组(T₂m),上三叠统小定西组(T₃x)和上三叠统芒汇河组(T₃mh)。忙怀组以酸性火山岩为主,为一套流纹岩夹火山碎屑岩组合;小定西组发育为中基性火山熔岩夹火山碎屑岩;芒汇河组具有流纹质火山碎屑岩与玄武岩共存的"双峰式"火山岩特征。地球化学特征表明,南澜沧江带三叠纪火山岩具有弧火山岩与大陆板内火山岩的双重属性,推测其形成环境为过渡型的大陆边缘造山带环境。对南澜沧江带南部景洪附近采集到的石英安山岩样品进行Ar-Ar年龄测试,得到的坪年龄为236.7±2.2Ma,为中三叠世。结合火山岩年代学结果,推测澜沧江洋主碰撞期为早三叠世,中三叠世与晚三叠世早期分别为碰撞后的应力松弛阶段与洋盆继续俯冲期,到晚三叠世末期,俯冲作用结束,澜沧江洋关闭。     

阿拉善宗乃山岩体东南缘花岗岩LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb年龄与地球化学特征

阿拉善宗乃山岩体东南缘分布多种类型的花岗岩,本文主要采用岩相学、激光剥蚀电感耦合等离子体质谱(LA-ICP-MS)锆石U-Pb定年、岩石地球化学等技术手段,对宗乃山岩体东南缘岩石类型、年代学、源岩特征以及构造背景进行了研究。结果表明:岩石类型主要为碱性-钙碱性准铝质花岗岩和闪长岩;单颗粒锆石分析获得黑云母斜长花岗岩年龄为236.8±1.9 Ma~249.7±2.6 Ma,片麻状花岗岩年龄为268.1±1.1 Ma,岩体成岩时期主要为华力西晚期和印支期早期,具有多期侵入的特征。该岩体岩石源岩为I型花岗岩,源于地壳火山弧区和同碰撞区,表明由于洋壳俯冲作用,在宗乃山东南缘形成了岛弧花岗岩侵入体。LA-ICP-MS锆石U-Pb定年技术为洋壳俯冲提供了年代学约束,确定了研究区碰撞时间为早于236.8±1.9 Ma。     

Middle to Late Ordovician arc system in the Kyrgyz Middle Tianshan: From arc-continent collision to subsequent evolution of a Palaeozoic continental margin

New geological, geochronological and isotopic data reveal a previously unknown arc system that evolved south of the Kyrgyz Middle Tianshan (MTS) microcontinent during the Middle and Late Ordovician, 467–444 Ma ago. The two fragments of this magmatic arc are located within the Bozbutau Mountains and the northern Atbashi Range, and a marginal part of the arc, with mixed volcanic and sedimentary rocks, extends north to the Semizsai metamorphic unit of the southern Chatkal Range. A continental basement of the arc, indicated by predominantly felsic volcanic rocks in Bozbutau and Atbashi, is supported by whole-rock Nd- and Hf-in-zircon isotopic data. ε_Nd(t) of + 0.9 to − 2.6 and ε_Hf(t) of + 1.8 to − 6.0 imply melting of Neo- to Mesoproterozoic continental sources with Nd model ages of ca. 0.9 to 1.2 Ga and Hf crustal model ages of ca. 1.2 to 1.7 Ga. In the north, the arc was separated from the MTS microcontinent by an oceanic back-arc basin, represented by the Karaterek ophiolite belt. Our inference of a long-lived Early Palaeozoic arc in the southwestern MTS suggests an oceanic domain between the MTS microcontinent and the Tarim craton in the Middle Ordovician.The time of arc-continent collision is constrained as Late Ordovician at ca. 450 Ma, based on cessation of sedimentation on the MTS microcontinent, the age of an angular unconformity within the Karaterek suture zone, and the age of syncollisional metamorphism and magmatism in the Kassan Metamorphic Complex of the southern Chatkal Range. High-grade amphibolite-facies metamorphism and associated crustal melting in the Kassan Metamorphic Complex restricts the main tectonic activity in the collisional belt to ca. 450 Ma. This interpretation is based on the age of a synkinematic amphibolite-facies granite, intruded into paragneiss during peak metamorphism. A second episode of greenschist- to kyanite–staurolite-facies metamorphism is dated between 450 and 420 Ma, based on the ages of granitoid rocks, subsequently affected or not affected by this metamorphism. The latest episode is recorded by greenschist-facies metamorphism in Silurian sandstones and granodiorites and by retrogression of the older, higher-grade rocks. This may have occurred at the Silurian to Devonian transition and reflects reorganization of a Middle Palaeozoic convergent margin.Late Ordovician collision was followed by initiation of a new continental arc in the southern MTS. This arc was active in the Early Silurian, latest Silurian to Middle Devonian, and Late Carboniferous, whereas during the Givetian through Mississippian (ca. 385–325 Ma) this area was a passive continental margin. These arcs, previously well constrained west of the Talas-Ferghana Fault, continued eastwards into the Naryn and Atbashi areas and probably extended into the Chinese Central Tianshan. The disappearance of a major crustal block with transitional facies on the continental margin and too short a distance between the arc and accretionary complex suggest that plate convergence in the Atbashi sector of the MTS was accompanied by subduction erosion in the Devonian or Early Pennsylvanian. This led to a minimum of 50–70 km of crustal loss and removal of the Ordovician arc as well as the Silurian and Devonian forearcs in the areas east of the Talas-Ferghana Fault.     

Geotectonic Subdivision and Paleozoic Subduction and Collision Orogeny of East Qinling and Its Adjacent Regions:Evidence from Geochemical Research

The regional lithospheric chemical heterogeneity in-ers that the East Qinling and its adjacent cratonic re-ions,as suggested by some authors,belong to twoeotectonic units,the North China subdomain includinghe North China Craton and its southern continentalhargin(the North Qinling Belt),and the Yangtzeanubdomain comprising the Yangtze Craton and itsorthern continental margin(the South Qinling Belt).In the North Qinling Belt the metamorphosedolcanic rocks and graywackes of the Early Paleozoicanfeng Group south of the Early Proterozoic QinlingGroup show geochemical characteristics resemblinghose of the are volcanies and are graywackes,espectively.The Early Paleozoic granites intruding in hehe Qinling Group also show similar geochemical fea-tures and similar compositional polarities to theare-type granites.The Erlangping Group north ofthe Qinling Group is a volcanic-sedimentary sequenceproduced in an Early Paleozoic back-are basin basedon geochemical evidence.It is therefore believed thatthe North Qinling B