Geochemistry and U–Pb detrital zircon ages of late Permian to Early Triassic metamorphic rocks from northern Liaoning, North China: Evidence for the timing of final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

2017 ◽  
Vol 145 ◽  
pp. 460-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Liu ◽  
Zhenghong Liu ◽  
Chen Zhao ◽  
Chujie Wang ◽  
Qingbin Guan ◽  
...  
2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (12) ◽  
pp. 1182-1190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Labrado ◽  
Terry L. Pavlis ◽  
Jeffrey M. Amato ◽  
Erik M. Day

A complex array of faulted arc rocks and variably metamorphosed forearc accretionary complex rocks form a mappable arc–forearc boundary in southern Alaska known as the Border Ranges fault (BRF). We use detrital U–Pb zircon dating of metasedimentary rocks within the Knik River terrane in the western Chugach Mountains to show that a belt of Early Cretaceous amphibolite-facies metamorphic rocks along the BRF was formed when older mélange rocks of the Chugach accretionary complex were reworked in a sinistral-oblique thrust reactivation of the BRF during a period of forearc plutonism. The metamorphic subterrane of the Knik River terrane has a maximum depositional age (MDA) of 156.5 ± 1.5 Ma and a detrital zircon age spectrum that is indistinguishable from the Potter Creek assemblage of the Chugach accretionary complex, supporting correlation of these units. These ages contrast strongly with new and existing data that show Triassic to earliest Jurassic detrital zircon ages from metamorphic screens in the plutonic subterrane of the Knik River terrane, a fragmented Early Jurassic plutonic assemblage generally interpreted as the basement of the Peninsular terrane. Based on these findings, we propose the following new terminology for the Knik River terrane: (1) “Carpenter Creek metamorphic complex” for the Early Cretaceous “metamorphic subterrane”, (2) “western Chugach trondhjemite suite” for the Early Cretaceous forearc plutons within the belt, (3) “Friday Creek assemblage” for a transitional mélange unit that contains blocks of the Carpenter Creek complex in a chert–argillite matrix, and (4) “Knik River metamorphic complex” in reference to metamorphic rocks engulfed by Early Jurassic plutons of the Peninsular terrane that represent the roots of the Talkeetna arc. The correlation of the Carpenter Creek metamorphic complex with the Chugach mélange indicates that the trace of the BRF lies ∼1–5 km north of the map trace shown on geologic maps, although, like other segments of the BRF, this boundary is blurred by local complexities within the BRF system. Ductile deformation of the mélange is sufficiently intense that few vestiges of its original mélange fabric exist, suggesting the scarcity of rocks described as mélange in the cores of many orogens may result from misidentification of rocks that have been intensely overprinted by younger, ductile deformation.


Minerals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 836
Author(s):  
Zuozhen Han ◽  
Jingjing Li ◽  
Zhigang Song ◽  
Guyao Liu ◽  
Wenjian Zhong ◽  
...  

The Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the Changchun-Yanji suture (CYS) was mainly associated with the Paleo-Asian and Mudanjiang tectonic regimes. However, the spatial and temporal overprinting and variations of these two regimes remains are still dispute. In order to evaluate this issue, in this contribution, we present new zircon U-Pb ages and a whole-rock geochemical and zircon Hf isotopic dataset on a suite of metamorphic rocks, including gneisses, actinolite schist, leptynites, and biotite schists, from tectonic mélanges in northern Liaoning and central Jilin provinces, NE China. Based on zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating results, protoliths show wide ranges of aging spectrum, including Paleoproterozoic (2441 Ma), Early Permian (281 Ma), Late Permian (254 Ma), and Late Triassic (230 Ma). The Permian protoliths of leptynites from the Hulan Tectonic Mélange (HLTM) and gneisses from the Kaiyuan Tectonic Mélange (KYTM) exhibit arc-related geochemical signatures, implying that the Paleo-Asian Ocean (PAO) did not close prior to the Late Permian. The Late Triassic protoliths of gneisses from the KYTM, in combination with previously reported coeval igneous rocks along the CYS, comprises a typical bimodal igneous suite in an E–W-trending belt, suggesting a post-orogenic extensional environment. Consequently, we infer that the final closure of the PAO took place during the Early–Middle Triassic. The Early Permian protoliths of biotite schists from the HLTM are alkali basaltic rocks and contain multiple older inherited zircons, which, in conjunction with the geochemical features of the rocks, indicate that they were generated in a continental rift related to the initial opening of the Mudanjiang Ocean (MO). Data from this contribution and previous studies lead us to conclude that the MO probably opened during the Middle Triassic, due to the north–south trending compression caused by the final closure of the PAO.


Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Yanpeng Wang ◽  
Wentao Yang ◽  
Shenyuan Peng ◽  
Shuaishuai Qi ◽  
Deshun Zheng

Provenance analysis of sediments provides important constraints on basin formation and orogenic processes. With the aim to define the sedimentary provenance and tectonic evolution of the southern margin of the North China Craton, this paper presents new detrital zircon U-Pb data from Early Triassic sediments in the Yiyang area. The results showed major peaks at 1848, 458, 425, and 268 Ma and subordinate peaks at ca. 2500, 872, and 957 Ma on age spectra from the Liujiagou Formation. The Heshanggou Formation exhibited a major age peak at 445 Ma and subordinate peaks at 755 and 947 Ma. Integrated with the analysis of sandstone detrital compositions, we suggest that the sources of the Liujiagou Formation were mainly a mixture of the southern margin of the North China Craton and the North Qinling Orogenic Belt, whereas the Heshanggou Formation was derived primarily from the North Qinling Orogenic Belt. Age comparisons of detrital zircon geochronology collected from different basins in the North China Craton indicated that the paleogeography of the North China Craton during the Early Triassic was strongly asymmetric, wherein the uplifted highland along the southern margin of the North China Craton was relatively lower than the northern margin. Meanwhile, the marked shift in source region from the Liujiagou to the Heshanggou formations provides a constraint regarding the conversion from denuded zone to deposited zone along the southern margin of the North China Craton in the Early Triassic, which controlled the evolution of the provenance and sedimentary system.


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