New Data Regarding Hotly Debated Topics Concerning UHP Metamorphism of the Dabie-Sulu Belt,East-Central China

Critical but controversial problems in the study of UHP metamorphic rocks from the Dabie-Sulu region include: (1) the possible existence of ophiolitic mélange; (2) the “in situ” versus “foreign” origin of UHP eclogites and their enclosing gneisses; (3) the possible presence and role of fluids during ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) recrystallization; (4) the timing of collision between the Yangtze and Sino-Korean continental blocks; (5) the polarity of syncollisional subduction; and (6) a single-versus multistage exhumation scenario for the UHP rocks. These questions are discussed in light of new geological, geochemical, and isotopic constraints.

Our conclusions for the Dabie-Sulu belt are as follows: (1) Mafic-ultramafic blocks are of two distinct origins: one group samples lithosphere of the suprasubductionzone mantle wedge, whereas the second group represents postcollisional magmatic intrusions. Neither lithologic group represents true oceanic crust. (2) Quartzofeldspathic gneisses enveloping the eclogites are of two types— metasedimentary “in situ” and igneous “foreign.” The paragneisses contain UHP garnets + white micas, and are uniformly older (235 ± 5 Ma) than the orthogneisses (210 ± 5 Ma), which are devoid of UHP mineralogic indicators. (3) Fluids were active under UHP conditions and allowed the formation of UHP hydrous phases such as phengite and zoisite. However, the aqueous fluids may have been restricted to certain channels/pathways during exhumation. External fluids were absent until ascent of the UHP rocks to middle-crustal levels. (4) The Yangtze and Sino-Korean continental blocks collided during 230 to 240 Ma, when supracontinental rocks experienced UHP metamorphism. The HP metamorphic event dated as >400 Ma might record a subduction of oceanic crust during the Paleozoic. (5) An ancient mantle wedge is revealed by geochemical characteristics of Mesozoic magmatic rocks developed on the southern margin of the Sino-Korean craton, the hanging wall of the UHP-rock-bearing unit. Seismic tomography images reveal that the Yangtze block extends beneath the Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. This indicates that both oceanic and continental crust had a northward subduction polarity. (6) Taking petrologic and geochronological data into account, we prefer a multistage exhumation model. The UHP rocks were exhumed rapidly during the first stage (230 to 200 Ma), perhaps reflecting a corner-flow mechanism. Then, buoyancy and mantle upwelling brought the UHP rocks up to middle-crustal levels during the second stage (200 to 170 Ma). Extension and thermal uplift, as well as erosion, eventually exposed the UHP rocks to the surface in the third stage (170 to 120 Ma).