Oceanic sediments of the Amur Terrane: Their age and tectonic significance

The oceanic pelagic and hemipelagic siliceous and siliceous-clayey sediments play a subordinate role in the Amur Terrane, where they constitute thin tectonic slices separated by thicker terrigenous continental-margin deposits. The analysis of the radiolarian assemblages revealed the Middle-Late Jurassic age of hemipelagic siliceous mudstone and the Early Cretaceous age of similar continental-margin sediments. These new data contribute to the knowledge of the terrane's stratigraphy and demonstrate the progressively younger age of the stratigraphic boundaries between the different sedimentary facies in the southeastern direction. The multiple stacking of the oceanic and continental-margin sediments is characteristic of the accretionary complexes, and precisely such an interpretation of the tectonic nature of the Amur Terrane is consistent with its composition and position in the regional structure.