Late proterozoic terrane tectonics in the central Jiangnan belt, southeast China

The Huaiyu and Jiuling terranes in the central Jiangnan belt, south China, are separated by the Dongxiang-Shexian shear zone. An Upper Proterozoic ophiolite-bearing mélange is dispersed along the contact. Isotopic ages of mafic and ultramafic rocks within the mélange cluster around 1000 Ma (Sm-Nd method). Glaucophanes from blueschist yield an isotopic age of 866 Ma (K-Ar method), interpreted to date the timing of collision. The mélange and terranes underwent regional metamorphism during the Late Proterozoic. The resulting foliation was later crosscut by a Late Proterzoic sinistral oblique normal shear along the suture zone. Clastic sediments were unconformably deposited over both terranes during the Sinian (latest Proterozoic).