Destruction geodynamics of the North China craton and its Paleoproterozoic plate tectonics

2009 ◽  
Vol 54 (19) ◽  
pp. 3354-3366 ◽  
Author(s):  
RiXiang Zhu ◽  
TianYu Zheng
Keyword(s):  
North China Craton ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
North China ◽  
The North

Are Wilson Cycles preserved in Archean cratons? A comparison of the North China and Slave cratons

2014 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-311 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy M. Kusky ◽  
Xiaoyong Li ◽  
Zhensheng Wang ◽  
Jianmin Fu ◽  
Luo Ze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North China Craton ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
North China ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pacific Slab ◽  
Arc Setting ◽  
Back Arc

A review and comparison of the tectonic history of the North China and Slave cratons reveal that the two cratons have many similarities and some significant differences. The similarities rest in the conclusion that both cratons have a history of a Wilson Cycle, having experienced rifting of an old continent in the late Archean, development of a rift to passive margin sequence, collision of this passive margin with arcs within 100–200 Ma of the formation of the passive margin, reversal of subduction polarity, then eventual climactic collision with another arc terrane, microcontinental fragment, or continent. This cycle demonstrates the operation of Paleozoic-style plate tectonics in the late Archean. The main differences lie in the later tectonic evolution. The Slave’s post-cratonization history is dominated by subduction dipping away from the interior of the craton, and later incorporation into the interior of a larger continent, whereas the North China Craton has had a long history of subduction beneath the craton, including presently being located above the flat-lying Pacific slab resting in the mantle transition zone, placing it in a broad back-arc setting, with multiple mantle hydration events and collisions along its borders. The hydration enhances melting in the overlying mantle, and leads to melts migrating upwards to thermochemically erode the lithospheric root. This major difference may explain why the relatively small Slave craton preserves its thick Archean lithospheric root, whereas the eastern North China Craton has lost it.

scholarly journals Thermal state and evolving geodynamic regimes of the Meso- to Neoarchean North China Craton

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guozheng Sun ◽  
Shuwen Liu ◽  
Peter A. Cawood ◽  
Ming Tang ◽  
Jeroen van Hunen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
North China Craton ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
North China ◽  
Thermal State ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
The North ◽  
Archean Crust ◽  
Mantle Potential Temperature

AbstractConstraining thickness and geothermal gradient of Archean continental crust are crucial to understanding geodynamic regimes of the early Earth. Archean crust-sourced tonalitic–trondhjemitic–granodioritic gneisses are ideal lithologies for reconstructing the thermal state of early continental crust. Integrating experimental results with petrochemical data from the Eastern Block of the North China Craton allows us to establish temporal–spatial variations in thickness, geothermal gradient and basal heat flow across the block, which we relate to cooling mantle potential temperature and resultant changing geodynamic regimes from vertical tectonics in the late Mesoarchean (~2.9 Ga) to plate tectonics with hot subduction in the early to late Neoarchean (~2.7–2.5 Ga). Here, we show the transition to a plate tectonic regime plays an important role in the rapid cooling of the mantle, and thickening and strengthening of the lithosphere, which in turn prompted stabilization of the cratonic lithosphere at the end of the Archean.

scholarly journals Thermal state and evolving geodynamic regimes of the Meso- to Neoarchean North China Craton

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guozheng Sun ◽  
Shuwen Liu ◽  
Peter Cawood ◽  
Ming Tang ◽  
Jeroen van Hunen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
North China Craton ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
North China ◽  
Thermal State ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Geothermal Gradient ◽  
The North ◽  
Archean Crust ◽  
Mantle Potential Temperature

Abstract Constraining the thickness and geothermal gradient of Archean continental crust are crucial to understanding geodynamic regimes of the early Earth. Archean crust-sourced tonalitic–trondhjemitic–granodioritic gneisses are ideal lithologies for reconstructing the thermal state of early continental crust. Integrating experimental results with petrochemical data from the Eastern Block of the North China Craton allows us to establish temporal–spatial variations in thickness, geothermal gradient and basal heat flow across the block, which we relate to cooling mantle potential temperature and resultant geodynamical regime change from plume dominated in the late Mesoarchean (~2.9 Ga) to plate tectonics with hot subduction in the early to late Neoarchean (~2.7–2.5 Ga). The initiation of plate tectonics might have played an important role in the rapid cooling of the mantle, and thickening and strengthening of the lithosphere, which in turn prompted stabilization of the cratonic lithosphere at the end of Archean.

scholarly journals Kinematics and structural evolution of the Anziling dome-and-keel architecture in east China: Evidence of Neoarchean vertical tectonism in the North China Craton

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Zhao ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Guochun Zhao ◽  
Changqing Yin ◽  
Guokai Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shear Zone ◽  
North China Craton ◽  
Plate Tectonics ◽  
North China ◽  
Structural Evolution ◽  
East China ◽  
Upward Movement ◽  
The North ◽  
Continental Block ◽  
Shear Sense

The debate on the role of vertical versus horizontal tectonism in Archean cratons is intimately linked to the initiation of plate tectonics. The dome-and-keel architecture has been considered as a consequence of vertical tectonism. Although such a structural pattern is documented in some Mesoarchean and older cratons, such as the Kaapvaal and Pilbara cratons, whether it also occurs in Neoarchean cratons is poorly constrained. Determining the kinematics, structural evolution, and the timing of these structures is crucial in understanding how the tectonic behavior operated during the evolution of the early Earth. The North China Craton, especially its eastern part, is a Neoarchean continental block and preserves typical greenstone-granite rock assemblages. Detailed structural mapping reveals that the Anziling area (east China) is characterized by a typical dome structure without significant reworking by later deformation. The dome is in tectonic contact with a supracrustal rock assemblage that is now the dip-slip Shuangshanzi ductile shear zone. In the supracrustal rocks, compositional layers are folded into upright isoclinal folds. Meanwhile, along the shear zone, foliation varies from NNW to SW with sub-vertical dip. Mineral stretching lineations indicate a sinistral shear sense with a slightly oblique-slip component in the north, but show NWW-directed and SW-directed steep dip-slip shear in the west and south, respectively. Kinematic indicators imply that the granitic dome formed through a vertically upward movement accompanied by an uneven clockwise rotation. The supracrustal rocks sank downwards to form the regional keel structure. Structural data suggests that the Anziling area is a typical dome-and-keel structure. U-Pb zircon dating on pre-, syn-, and post-tectonic dykes indicate that the dome-and-keel structure formed at 2530−2500 Ma, and was intimately related to the emplacement of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite granitoids. New data from this study suggest that until the late Neoarchean, the vertical tectonism was still a dominant tectonic regime that was operating in the eastern North China Craton.

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