The General Characteristics and Distribution of the Glaucophane-Schist Belts of China

On the basis of the temperature variation, the glaucophane-schist facies Gan be classified into two faciesgroups, the glaucophane-lawsonite facies group and the glaucophane-greenschist facies group, and forms vari-ous facies series with other metamorphic facies. Glaucophane-schist belts of China are of different types withregard to their average T-P gradients and tectonic environments. They are: (1) Proterozoic intracratonicglaucophane-schist belts, (2) Caledonian intracratonic glaucophane-schist belts, (3) Palaeozoic pericratonicglaucophane-schist belts along the northern margin of the Chinese Platform, and (4) Meso-Cenozoicglaucophane-schist belts related to subduction. The initiation and evolution of glaucophane-schist metamorphism are related to their tectonic environ-ments. Most glaucophane-schist belts of China were formed in sialic environments. First the crust began tobreak up and eventually oceanic crust was formed. It seems that a non-uniformitarian mechanism may be in-volved as this evolution is related to the change of the configuration of the heat flow within the crust.

The General Characteristics and Distribution of the Glaucophane-Schist Belts of China

Abstract On the basis of the temperature variation, the glaucophane-schist facies can be classified into two facies groups, the glaucophane-lawsonite facies group and the glaucophane-greenschist facies group, and forms various facies series with other metamorphic facies. Glaucophane-schist belts of China are of different types with regard to their average T- P gradients and tectonic environments. They are: (1) Proterozoic intracratonic glaucophane- schist belts, (2) Caledonian intracratonic glaucophane- schist belts, (3) Palaeozoic pericratonic glaucophane- schist belts along the northern margin of the Chinese Platform, and (4) Meso- Cenozoic glaucophane-schist belts related to subduction. The initiation and evolution of glaucophane-schist metamorphism are related to their tectonic environments. Most glaucophane-schist belts of China were formed in sialic environments. First the crust began to break up and eventually oceanic crust was formed. It seems that a non-uniformitarian mechanism may be involved as this evolution is related to the change of the configuration of the heat flow within the crust.