Late Jurassic (Tithonian) radiolarians from a clastic unit of the Khabarovsk complex (Russian Far East): Significance for subduction accretion timing and terrane correlation

A well-preserved radiolarian fauna from a clastic unit of the Khabarovsk accretionary complex (southern part of the Badzhal accretionary wedge terrane in the Russian Far East) is assigned to the basal part of the Pseudodictyomitra carpatica zone. The age of the fauna is most likely late Tithonian. This is the first reliable dating of the clastic unit and makes it possible to constrain the timing of subduction accretion in the Badzhal terrane. The Khabarovsk complex is correlated chronologically with the Bikin and Samarka terranes (Russian Far East), Mino, Southern Chichibu and North Kitakami terranes (Japan), and Nadanhada terrane (northeast China).     

Buruanga peninsula and Antique Range: Two contrasting terranes in Northwest Panay,Philippines featuring an arc–continent collision zone

Alternating chert–clastic sequences juxtaposed with limestone blocks, which are units typical of accretionary complexes, constitute the Buruanga peninsula. New lithostratigraphic units are proposed in this study: the Unidos Formation (Jurassic chert sequence), the Saboncogon Formation (Jurassic siliceous mudstone–terrigenous mudstone and quartz‐rich sandstone), the Gibon Formation (Jurassic(?) bedded pelagic limestone), the Libertad Metamorphics (Jurassic–Cretaceous slate, phyllite, and schist) and the Buruanga Formation (Pliocene–Pleistocene reefal limestone). The first three sedimentary sequences in the Buruanga peninsula show close affinity with the ocean plate stratigraphy of the North Palawan terrane in Busuanga Island: Lower–Middle Jurassic chert sequences overlain by Middle–Upper Jurassic clastics, juxtaposed with pelagic limestone. Moreover, the JR5–JR6 (Callovian to Oxfordian) siliceous mudstone of the Saboncogon Formation in the Buruanga peninsula correlates with the JR5–JR6 siliceous mudstone of the Guinlo Formation in the Middle Busuanga Belt. These findings suggest that the Buruanga peninsula may be part of the North Palawan terrane. The rocks of the Buruanga peninsula completely differ from the Middle Miocene basaltic to andesitic pyroclastic and lava flow deposits with reefal limestone and arkosic sandstone of the Antique Range. Thus, the previously suggested boundary between the Palawan microcontinental block and the Philippine Mobile Belt in the central Philippines, which is the suture zone between the Buruanga peninsula and the Antique Range, is confirmed. This boundary is similarly considered as the collision zone between them.     

Radiolaria‐dated Lower Permian clastic‐rock sequence in the Fukuji area of the Hida‐gaien terrane,central Japan,and its inter‐terrane correlation across Southwest Japan

The stratigraphy and radiolarian age of the Mizuyagadani Formation in the Fukuji area of the Hida‐gaien terrane, central Japan, represent those of Lower Permian clastic‐rock sequences of the Paleozoic non‐accretionary‐wedge terranes of Southwest Japan that formed in island arc–forearc/back‐arc basin settings. The Mizuyagadani Formation consists of calcareous clastic rocks, felsic tuff, tuffaceous sandstone, tuffaceous mudstone, sandstone, mudstone, conglomerate, and lenticular limestone. Two distinctive radiolarian faunas that are newly reported from the Lower Member correspond to the zonal faunas of the Pseudoalbaillella u‐forma morphotype I assemblage zone to the Pseudoalbaillella lomentaria range zone (Asselian to Sakmarian) and the Albaillella sinuata range zone (Kungurian). In spite of a previous interpretation that the Mizuyagadani Formation is of late Middle Permian age, it consists of Asselian to Kungurian tuffaceous clastic strata in its lower part and is conformably overlain by the Middle Permian Sorayama Formation. An inter‐terrane correlation of the Mizuyagadani Formation with Lower Permian tuffaceous clastic strata in the Kurosegawa terrane and the Nagato tectonic zone of Southwest Japan indicates the presence of an extensive Early Permian magmatic arc(s) that involved almost all of the Paleozoic non‐accretionary‐wedge terranes in Japan. These new biostratigraphic data provide the key to understanding the original relationships among highly disrupted Paleozoic terranes in Japan and northeast Asia.     

Geological relationship between Anyui Metamorphic Complex and Samarka terrane,Far East Russia

The Anyui Metamorphic Complex (AMC) of Cretaceous age is composed of metachert, schist, gneiss, migmatite and ultramafic rocks, and forms a dome structure within the northernmost part of the Jurassic accretionary complex of the Samarka terrane. The two adjacent geological units are bounded by a fault, but the gradual changes of grain size and crystallinity index of quartz in chert and metachert of the Samarka terrane and the AMC, together with the gradual lithological change, indicate that at least parts of the AMC are metamorphic equivalents of the Samarka rocks. Radiolarian fossils from siliceous mudstone of the Samarka terrane indicates Tithonian age (uppermost Jurassic), and hence, form a slightly later accretion. This signifies that the accretionary complex in the study area is one of the youngest tectonostratigraphic units of the Samarka terrane. The relationship between the Samarka terrane and AMC, as well as their ages and lithologies, are similar to those of the Tamba–Mino–Ashio terrane and Ryoke Metamorphic Complex in southwest Japan. In both areas the lower (younger) part of the Jurassic accretionary complexes were intruded and metamorphosed by Late Cretaceous granitic magma. Crustal development of the Pacific‐type orogen has been achieved by the cycle of: (i) accretion of oceanic materials and turbidites derived from the continent; and (ii) granitic intrusion by the next subduction and accretion events, accompanied by formation of high T/P metamorphic complexes.     

Off-scraped Permian-Jurassic bedded chert thrust on Jurassic-early Cretaceous accretionary prism: Radiolarian evidence from le Island, central Ryukyu Island Arc

Abstract The pre-Neogene basement of the central Ryukyu Island Arc shows zonal structures analogous to those of the outer belt of southwest Japan. The innermost terrane (Iheya Zone) consists of isoclinally folded beds dipping northwestward; the anticlinal cores are composed mainly of Permian chert, whereas the synclinal parts are represented by Jurassic to Cretaceous sandstone-rich alternating siliceous shale and chert, bearing appropriate radiolarian fossils. At the east-central area of Ie Island, the basement rocks are exposed as a 172 m high peak, Tattyu. The flank area of Tattyu is composed of latest Jurassic to Berriasian siliceous shale and chert as part of an accretionary prism, while most of Tattyu is composed of a continuous and very compact sequence of Norian through Kimmeridgian (?) bedded chert which is rather gently inclined. Beyond an unexposed part below the Norian chert, Guadalupian chert is recognized. It is inferred that this pelagic chert (Tattyu sequence) was off-scraped and thrust on to the accretionary prism which developed on its flank area in an accretion process after the Early Cretaceous.     

Structure and age of lower structural unit of Taukha terrane of Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous accretionary prism,southern Sikhote–Alin

Specific data is presented on structure and age of the sedimentary formations within the lower structural unit (Erdagou Formation) in the Taukha terrane, southern Sikhote–Alin, Russia. According to lithological research of this unit exposed in the Benevka River area, the Erdagou Formation represents a deformed fragment of so‐called Oceanic Plate Stratigraphy sequence. The Erdagou Formation includes all lithological varieties of rocks from pelagic (cherts and clayey cherts) and hemipelagic (siliceous mudstones) up to oceanic‐margin (mudstones, siltstones, and turbidites) deposits. Based on the results of radiolarian biostratigraphic research of the rocks, the age of the cherts is from middle Oxfordian to the beginning of Berriasian. Transitive layers between cherts and terrigenous rocks (turbidites), namely siliceous mudstones, are early Berriasian in age. The lower part of the terrigenous section is characterized by late Berriasian–late Valanginian radiolarians. Taking these data into account, it is plausible that the accretion of the given part of the paleo‐oceanic plate occurred post‐Valanginian.     

The basement geology of Japan from A to Z

The Precambrian and lower Paleozoic units of the Japanese basement such as the Hida Oki and South Kitakami terranes have geological affinities with the eastern Asia continent and particularly strong correlation with units of the South China block. There are also indications from units such as the Hitachi metamorphics of the Abukuma terrane and blocks in the Maizuru terrane that some material may have been derived from the North China block. In addition to magmatism, the Japanese region has seen substantial growth due to tectonic accretion. The accreted units dominantly consist of mudstone and sandstone derived from the continental margin with lesser amounts of basaltic rocks associated with siliceous deep ocean sediments and local limestone. Two main phases of accretionary activity and related metamorphism are recorded in the Jurassic Mino–Tanba–Ashio, Chichibu, and North Kitakami terranes and in the Cretaceous to Neogene Shimanto and Sanbagawa terranes. Other accreted material includes ophiolitic sequences, e.g. the Yakuno ophiolite of the Maizuru terrane, the Oeyama ophiolite of the Sangun terrane, and the Hayachine–Miyamori ophiolite of the South Kitakami terrane, and limestone‐capped ocean plateaus such as the Akiyoshi terrane. The ophiolitic units are likely derived from arc and back‐arc basin settings. There has been no continental collision in Japan, meaning the oceanic subduction record is more complete than in convergent orogens seen in intracontinental settings making this a good place to study the geological record of accretion. Hokkaido lacks most of the Paleozoic history recognized in Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and the Ryukyu Islands to the south and its geology reflects the Cenozoic development of two convergent domains with volcanic arcs, their approach, and eventual collision. The Hidaka terrane reveals a cross section through a volcanic arc and the main accretionary complex of the convergent system is represented by the Sorachi–Yezo terrane.     

Rapid evolution of the Eocene accretionary complex (Hyuga Group) of the Shimanto terrane in southeastern Kyushu, southwestern Japan

Abstract   Detailed geologic examination of the Eocene accretionary complex (Hyuga Group) of the Shimanto terrane in southeastern Kyushu revealed that the oceanic plate was composed of Paleocene to Lower Eocene mudstone and siliceous mudstone, lower Middle Eocene red mudstone, and mid-Middle Eocene trench-fill turbidite with siltstone breccia, successively overlying the pre-Eocene oceanic plate. This oceanic plate sequence was overlain by Upper Eocene siltstone. Deposition of the lower Middle Eocene red mudstone was accompanied by basalt flows and it is interbedded with continental felsic tuff, which indicates that the basalt and red mudstone were deposited near the trench just before accretion. The Hyuga Group has very similar geological structure to that of the chert–clastic complexes found in the Jurassic accretionary complexes in Japan: that is, a decollement fault formed in the middle of an oceanic plate sequence, and an imbricate structure formed only in the upper part of the sequence. Thus, it appears that the Hyuga Group was formed by the same accretionary process as the Jurassic accretionary complexes. No accretion occurred before the Middle Eocene, and the rapid accretion of the Hyuga Group was commenced by the supply of coarse terrigenous sediments in the mid-Middle Eocene, when the direction of movement of the Pacific Plate changed. The pre-Eocene oceanic basement and lower Middle Eocene volcanic activity suggest that the oceanic plate partly preserved in the Hyuga Group was very similar to the northern part of the present West Philippine Sea Plate.     

Geochemistry of the Mesozoic bedded cherts of Central Baja California (Vizcaino-Cedros-San Benito): implications for paleogeographic reconstruction of an old oceanic basin

In central Baja California (Vizcaino Peninsula, and Cedros and San Benito Islands) two distinct radiolarian bedded chert sequences of late Triassic and late Jurassic/lowermost Cretaceous age, can be differentiated on lithostratigraphic and geochemical criteria.These bedded chert sequences are part of the conformable sedimentary cover of more or less dismembered ophiolites, which are overthrusted by the San Andrès-Cedros volcanic arc system of middle late Jurassic age.Major and trace elements permit paleogeographic zonation of the late Jurassic/lowermost Cretaceous radiolarites lying conformably upon ophiolites considered as fragments of an oceanic basin floor which developed westward of the San Andrès volcanic arc. Progressive accretion of this oceanic basin floor, along the continental margin is supported by the fact that the more distal radiolarian chert sequences belong to the lowermost structural units of this area.     

Middle Permian radiolarians from Anmenkou, Chaohu, Northeastern Yangtze platform, China

The biostratigraphy of the Middle Permian Gufeng Formation in the northeastern Yangtze platform is examined based on radiolarians. This study is concentrated on the Anmenkou section in the Chaohu area of Anhui Province, China. The Gufeng Formation is divided into the Phosphate Nodule-bearing Mudstone Member (PNMM) and the Siliceous Rock Member (SRM) in ascending order. The former primarily consists of mudstone including abundant phosphate nodules, and the latter consists mainly of alternating beds of chert, siliceous mudstone and mudstone, with intercalations of porous chert. Ammonoids in the mudstone of the lower PNMM are Wordian. Chert, siliceous mudstone and mudstone of the SRM include abundant radiolarians with sponge spicule assemblages suggestive of the Wordian–Capitanian. Albaillellaria are predominant in the lower SRM, while Entactinaria and Spumellaria are predominant in the middle and upper SRM. These radiolarians correspond to three radiolarian assemblage zones: Pseudoalbaillella longtanensis – Pseudoalbaillella fusiformis , Follicucullus monacanthus , and Follicucullus scholasticus – Ruzhencevispongus uralicus . The assemblage of radiolarians and sponge spicule fauna suggests a depositional depth of 150–500 m. The radiolarian fauna of the Gufeng Formation is considered to be representative of the relatively shallow, tropical radiolarian fauna of the Middle Permian eastern Paleotethys.     

Triassic mid-oceanic sedimentation in Panthalassa Ocean: Sambosan accretionary complex, Japan

Abstract   The Sambosan accretionary complex of southwest Japan was formed during the uppermost Jurassic to lowermost Cretaceous and consists of basaltic rocks, carbonates and siliceous rocks. The Sambosan oceanic rocks were grouped into four stratigraphic successions: (i) Middle Upper Triassic basaltic rock; (ii) Upper Triassic shallow-water limestone; (iii) limestone breccia; and (iv) Middle Middle Triassic to lower Upper Jurassic siliceous rock successions. The basaltic rocks have a geochemical affinity with oceanic island basalt of a normal hotspot origin. The shallow-water limestone, limestone breccia, and siliceous rock successions are interpreted to be sediments on the seamount-top, upper seamount-flank and surrounding ocean floor, respectively. Deposition of the radiolarian chert of the siliceous rock succession took place on the ocean floor in Late Anisian and continued until Middle Jurassic. Oceanic island basalt was erupted to form a seamount by an intraplate volcanism in Late Carnian. Late Triassic shallow-water carbonate sedimentation occurred at the top of this seamount. Accumulation of the radiolarian chert was temporally replaced by Late Carnian to Early Norian deep-water pelagic carbonate sedimentation. Biotic association and lithologic properties of the pelagic carbonates suggest that an enormous production and accumulation of calcareous planktonic biotas occurred in an open-ocean realm of the Panthalassa Ocean in Late Carnian through Early Norian. Upper Norian ribbon chert of the siliceous rock succession contains thin beds of limestone breccia displaced from the shallow-water buildup resting upon the seamount. The shallow-water limestone and siliceous rock successions are nearly coeval with one another and are laterally linked by displaced carbonates in the siliceous rock succession.     

Late Paleozoic radiolarians from the Bentong-Raub suture zone, Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract Radiolarians extracted from marine siliceous sediments from the Bentong-Raub suture zone, Peninsular Malaysia have indicated a range of ages for olistostromal blocks of bedded chert, siliceous argillite and tuffaceous argillite, and chert clasts and lenses within the mélange from the suture zone. Late Devonian (Faniennian), Early Carboniferous (Tournaisian and Viséan) and Early Permian (Wolfcampian and Leonardian) ages are represented by seven radiolarian zones from ten localities along the suture zone. In stratigraphic order these include Holoeciscus 2–3 Assemblage Zones, Albaillella paradoxa Zone, Albaillella dejendrei Zone, Albaillella cartalla Zone, Pseudoalbaillella lomentaria Zone, Albaillella sinuata Zone and Pseudoalbaillella longtanensis Zone. Fifteen genera are represented by 35 species. The range of ages from Late Devonian to Early Permian suggests that an ocean existed between the Sibumasu and East Malaya terranes from at least Late Devonian to late Early Permian time and that closure of the ocean between the two terranes could not have occurred until after late Early Permian time. The range of ages and rock types from different depositional environments, indicate that the Bentong-Raub suture zone includes a disrupted accretionary complex.     

Radiolarian‐based study on the fabric and the formation process of the Early Cretaceous mélange near Zhongba,Yarlung–Tsangpo Suture Zone,southern Tibet

The Yarlung–Tsangpo Suture Zone (YTSZ), as the southernmost and youngest among the sutures that subdivides the Tibetan Plateau into several east–west trending blocks, marks where the Neo‐Tethys was consumed as the Indian continent moved northward and collided against the Eurasian continent. Mélanges in the YTSZ represent the remnants of the oceanic plate through subduction and collision. Mélanges are characterized by a highly sheared volcanoclastic or siliceous mudstone matrix including blocks of chert, claystone, and basalt. Detailed radiolarian analyses are conducted on the mélange near Zhongba County. Macroscopic, mesoscopic, and microscopic observations are combined in order to elucidate the relationships among age, lithology, and structure of blocks in the mélange. Reconstructed ocean plate stratigraphy includes Lower Jurassic limestone within the chert sequence accumulated at a depth near the CCD (Unit 2), Upper Jurassic thin‐bedded chert interbedded with claystone deposited in the wide ocean basin (Unit 3), and Lower Cretaceous chert with siliceous mudstone (Units 4 and 5), representing the middle parts of ocean plate stratigraphy. The results highlight the fabric of brecciated chert on mesoscopic scale, which is thought to be due to localized overpressure. The formation of mesoscopic and microscopic block‐in‐matrix fabrics in the mélange is proposed for the chert and siliceous mudstone bearing different extents of consolidation and competence during the progressive deformation of accreted sediments at shallow‐level subduction.     

Episodic accretion and metamorphism of Jurassic accretionary complex based on biostratigraphy and K-Ar geochronology in the western part of the Mino-Tanba Belt, Southwest Japan

Abstract The low grade metamorphic Jurassic accretionary complex in the western part of the Mino-Tanba Belt, Southwest Japan, is a chaotic sedimentary complex which consists of argillaceous matrices with allochthonous blocks of chert, greenstone, siliceous mudstone, terrigenous sandstone and mudstone. The complex is divided into three distinct geologic units, Units I, II and III, with a tectonic boundary (thrust) between them, forming a pile-nappe structure. They have different features for lithologies, fossil age, metamorphic condition and K-Ar age. Microfossil researches revealed that their timings of accretion were in the early Early Jurassic ( ca 195 Ma) for Unit III, in the early Middle Jurassic ( ca 175 Ma) for Unit II and in the latest Late Jurassic (ca 147 Ma) for Unit I. On the other hand, K-Ar age determinations of white mica separated from pelitic rocks of the three units clarified that the subsequent subduction-related metamorphism was 23 million years after the accretion of each unit. These results strongly suggest that the accretionary and metamorphic process had taken place episodically with an interval of 20 to 28 million years during Mesozoic time in the western part of the Mino-Tanba Belt, Southwest Japan.     

Paleocene deep-water sediments and radiolarian faunas: Implications for evolution of Yarlung-Zangbo foreland basin, southern Tibet

Only a few Paleocene radiolarian assemblages have been reported, while the Early Paleocene zonal schemes remain poorly delineated. The Early Paleocene on-land radiolarians were described in the Hidaka melange belt of Japan and the North Island of New Zeal…     

Detrital zircon multi‐chronology,provenance, and low‐grade metamorphism of the Cretaceous Shimanto accretionary complex,eastern Shikoku,Southwest Japan: Tectonic evolution in response to igneous activity within a subduction zone

Detrital zircon multi‐chronology combined with provenance and low‐grade metamorphism analyses enables the reinterpretation of the tectonic evolution of the Cretaceous Shimanto accretionary complex in Southwest Japan. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages and provenance analysis defines the depositional age of trench‐fill turbidites associated with igneous activity in provenance. Periods of low igneous activity are recorded by youngest single grain zircon U–Pb ages (YSG) that approximate or are older than the depositional ages obtained from radiolarian fossil‐bearing mudstone. Periods of intensive igneous activity recorded by youngest cluster U–Pb ages (YC1σ) that correspond to the younger limits of radiolarian ages. The YC1σ U–Pb ages obtained from sandstones within mélange units provide more accurate younger depositional ages than radiolarian ages derived from mudstone. Determining true depositional ages requires a combination of fossil data, detrital zircon ages, and provenance information. Fission‐track ages using zircons estimated YC1σ U–Pb ages are useful for assessing depositional and annealing ages for the low‐grade metamorphosed accretionary complex. These new dating presented here indicates the following tectonic history of the accretionary wedge. Evolution of the Shimanto accretionary complex from the Albian to the Turonian was caused by the subduction of the Izanagi plate, a process that supplied sediments via the erosion of Permian and Triassic to Early Jurassic granitic rocks and the eruption of minor amounts of Early Cretaceous intermediate volcanic rocks. The complex subsequently underwent intensive igneous activity from the Coniacian to the early Paleocene as a result of the subduction of a hot and young oceanic slab, such as the Kula–Pacific plate. Finally, the major out‐of‐sequence thrusts of the Fukase Fault and the Aki Tectonic Line formed after the middle Eocene, and this reactivation of the Shimanto accretionary complex as a result of the subduction of the Pacific plate.     

Tectonic accretion of a subducted intraoceanic remnant arc in Cretaceous Hokkaido, Japan, and implications for evolution of the Pacific northwest

Abstract   An accretionary complex, which contains fragments of a remnant island arc, was newly recognized in the Cretaceous accretionary terranes in Hokkaido, Japan. It consists of volcanics, volcanic conglomerate, intermediate to ultramafic intrusive rocks with island-arc affinity including boninitic rocks, accompanied by chert and deformed terrigenous turbidites. Compared with the results of modern oceanic surveys, the preserved sequence from island-arc volcanics to chert, via reworked volcanics, is indicative of intraoceanic remnant arc, because the sequence suggests an inactive arc isolated within a pelagic environment before its accretion. The age of a subducting oceanic crust can be discontinuous before and after a remnant-arc subduction, resulting in abrupt changes in accretion style and metamorphism, as seen in Cretaceous Hokkaido. Subduction of such an intraoceanic remnant arc suggests that the subducted oceanic plate in the Cretaceous was not an extensive oceanic plate like the Izanagi and/or Kula Plates as previously believed by many authors, but a marginal basin plate having an arc–back-arc system like the present-day Philippine Sea Plate.     

Early Cretaceous tectonic events implied in the time-lag between the age of radiolarian chert and its metamorphic basement in the Bantimala area, South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract The Bantimala Complex of South Sulawesi consists mainly of mélange, chert, basalt, ultramafic rocks and high pressure type metamorphic rocks. Well-preserved radiolarians were extracted from 10 samples of chert, and K-Ar age dating was done for muscovite from five samples of schist of the Bantimala Complex. The radiolarian assemblage from chert is assigned middle Cretaceous (late Albian-early Cenomanian) age, while the K-Ar age data from schist range from 132 Ma to 114 Ma except for one sample with rare muscovite. The radiolarian chert is unconformably underlain by schist in the Bantimala Complex. The stratigraphie relationship and the time lag of these two kinds of age data from chert and underlying schist suggest short-time tectonic events immediately followed by a quick waning tectonism in this region during the Albian-Cenomanian transgression.     

Oceanic plateau accretion inferred from Late Paleozoic greenstones in the Jurassic Tamba accretionary complex, southwest Japan

Abstract The Jurassic Tamba accretionary complex is divided into two tectono‐stratigraphic suites (Type I and II nappe groups), which are further divided into six complexes (nappes) each of which is characterized by a rock sequence of Late Paleozoic greenstone/limestone, Permian to Jurassic chert and Jurassic terrigenous clastic rocks. The mode of occurrence of the greenstone is divided into two types. The major basal type occurs as a large coherent slab associated with Permian chert and limestone, constituting the basal part of each complex, and the minor mixed type occurs as fragmented allochthonous greenstone blocks and lenses mixed with chert, limestone and sandstone in the Jurassic mudstone matrix. Most of the basal greenstones have uniform geochemical characteristics, which indicate enriched‐mid‐oceanic ridge basalt (MORB) affinity. Their geochemical compositions are akin to the reported Permo‐Carboniferous and Triassic oceanic plateau basalts. Mixed greenstones are divided into two petrochemical types: (i) tholeiitic basalt with normal‐MORB affinity, which is predominant in the uppermost complex of the Type II suite (upper nappe group); and (ii) tholeiitic and alkalic basalts of oceanic island or seamount origin, which are common in all complexes of the Tamba Belt. Geochemical characteristics of the greenstones thus vary in accordance with their occurrences and the structural units to which they belong. This relationship reflects the difference in topographic relief and crustal thickness of the accreted oceanic edifices – the remnants of thick oceanic plateau crust tended to accrete to the continental margin as a large basal greenstone body, whereas thin normal oceanic crust with small seamounts or oceanic islands accreted as mixed greenstones because of their mechanical weakness. The Type II suite (upper nappe group) contains the basal and mixed greenstones, whereas the Type I suite (lower nappe group) includes only mixed greenstones. This distinction may reflect the temporal change of subducting edifices from a thick oceanic plateau to a thin normal oceanic crust, and suggests that the accretion of a large oceanic plateau may be responsible for building accretionary complexes with thick basal greenstones slabs.     

Integrated Radiolaria,benthic foraminifera and conodont biochronology of the pelagic Permian blocks/tectonic slices and geochemistry of associated volcanic rocks from the Mersin Mélange,southern Turkey: Implications for the Permian evolution of the northern Neotethys

Blocks and tectonic slices within the Mersin Mélange (southern Turkey), which are of Northern Neotethyan origin (Izmir–Ankara–Erzincan Ocean (IAE)), were studied in detail by using radiolarian, conodont, and foraminiferal assemblages on six different stratigraphic sections with well‐preserved Permian succesions. The basal part of the Permian sequence, composed of alternating chert and mudstone with basic volcanics, is assigned to the late Asselian (Early Permian) based on radiolarians. The next basaltic interval in the sequence is dated as Kungurian. The highly alkaline basic volcanics in the sequence are extremely enriched, similar to kimberlitic/lamprophyric magmas generated at continental intraplate settings. Trace element systematics suggest that these lavas were generated in a continental margin involving a metasomatized subcontinental lithospheric mantle source (SCLM). The middle part of the Permian sequences, dated by benthic foraminifera and conodont assemblages, includes detrital limestones with chert interlayers and neptunian dykes of middle Wordian to earliest Wuchiapingian age. Higher in the sequence, detrital limestones are overlain by alternating chert and mudstone with intermittent microbrecciated beds of early Wuchiapingian to middle Changhsingian (Late Permian) age based on the radiolarians. A large negative shift at the base of the Lopingian at the upper part of section is correlated to negative shifts at the Guadalupian/Lopingian boundary associated with the end‐Guadalupian mass extinction event. All these findings indicate that a continental rift system associated with a possible mantle plume existed during the late Early to Late Permian period. This event was responsible for the rupturing of the northern Gondwanan margin related to the opening of the IAE Ocean. When the deep basinal features of the Early Permian volcano‐sedimentary sequence are considered, the proto IAE oceanic crust formed possibly before the end of the Permian. This, in turn, suggests that the opening of the IAE Ocean dates back to as early as the Permian.