Stratigraphy, structure and evolution of the Tibetan–Tethys zone in Zanskar and the Indus suture zone in the Ladakh Himalaya

1983 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 205-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Searle
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Ladakh Himalaya ◽  
Late Tertiary

ABSTRACTThe Tibetan–Tethys zone of the Zanskar Himalaya shows a complete Mesozoic shelf carbonate sequence overlying metamorphic basement of the Central crystalline complex and Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks. Continental rifting in the Permian produced the alkaline and basaltic Panjal volcanic rocks and by Triassic time a small ocean basin was developed in the Indus-Tsangpo zone. Stable sedimentation continued until the Middle-Late Cretaceous when a thick sequence of tholeiitic to andesitic island arc lavas (Dras arc) were erupted in the basin above a N-dipping subduction zone. The Spontang ophiolite was emplaced southwards onto the Zanskar shelf edge during latest Cretaceous or earliest Tertiary times.Following emplacement of the Spontang ophiolite, deep-sea sedimentation ended abruptly with initial collision between the Indian plate and the Dras island arc. Emplacement of the massive Ladakh (Trans-Himalayan) batholith along the southern margin of Tibet in late Cretaceous-Eocene time occurred by crustal melting as a result of northward subduction of Mesozoic oceanic crust along the Indus subduction zone. Southward-directed thrusting in both Zanskar and Indus zones accompanied ocean closure during the late Cretaceous–Eocene. Late Tertiary compression caused intense folding, overturning and a phase of northward-directed thrusting along the Indus suture zone and the northern margin of the Tibetan–Tethys zone, resulting in a large amount of crustal shortening.

Structure of the North Indian continental margin in the Ladakh–Zanskar Himalayas: implications for the timing of obduction of the Spontang ophiolite, India–Asia collision and deformation events in the Himalaya

1997 ◽  
Vol 134 (3) ◽  
pp. 297-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
MIKE SEARLE ◽  
RICHARD I. CORFIELD ◽  
BEN STEPHENSON ◽  
JOE MCCARRON
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Normal Faults ◽  
Initial Contact ◽  
Crustal Shortening ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
The North ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
The Himalaya

The collision of India and Asia can be defined as a process that started with the closing of the Tethyan ocean that, during Mesozoic and early Tertiary times, separated the two continental plates. Following initial contact of Indian and Asian continental crust, the Indian plate continued its northward drift into Asia, a process which continues to this day. In the Ladakh–Zanskar Himalaya the youngest marine sediments, both in the Indus suture zone and along the northern continental margin of India, are lowermost Eocene Nummulitic limestones dated at ∼54 Ma. Along the north Indian shelf margin, southwest-facing folded Palaeocene–Lower Eocene shallow-marine limestones unconformably overlie highly deformed Mesozoic shelf carbonates and allochthonous Upper Cretaceous shales, indicating an initial deformation event during the latest Cretaceous–early Palaeocene, corresponding with the timing of obduction of the Spontang ophiolite onto the Indian margin. It is suggested here that all the ophiolites from Oman, along western Pakistan (Bela, Muslim Bagh, Zhob and Waziristan) to the Spontang and Amlang-la ophiolites in the Himalaya were obducted during the late Cretaceous and earliest Palaeocene, prior to the closing of Tethys.The major phase of crustal shortening followed the India–Asia collision producing spectacular folds and thrusts across the Zanskar range. A new structural profile across the Indian continental margin along the Zanskar River gorge is presented here. Four main units are separated by major detachments including both normal faults (e.g. Zanskar, Karsha Detachments), southwest-directed thrusts reactivated as northeast-directed normal faults (e.g. Zangla Detachment), breakback thrusts (e.g. Photoksar Thrust) and late Tertiary backthrusts (e.g. Zanskar Backthrust). The normal faults place younger rocks onto older and separate two units, both showing compressional tectonics, but have no net crustal extension across them. Rather, they are related to rapid exhumation of the structurally lower, middle and deep crustal metamorphic rocks of the High Himalaya along the footwall of the Zanskar Detachment. The backthrusting affects the northern margin of the Zanskar shelf and the entire Indus suture zone, including the mid-Eocene–Miocene post-collisional fluvial and lacustrine molasse sediments (Indus Group), and therefore must be Pliocene–Pleistocene in age. Minimum amounts of crustal shortening across the Indian continental margin are 150–170 km although extreme ductile folding makes any balancing exercise questionable.

Tectonic framework of the Himalaya, Karakoram and Tibet, and problems of their evolution

1988 ◽  
Vol 326 (1589) ◽  
pp. 3-16 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Southern Tibet ◽  
Early Tertiary ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
Andean Type ◽  
Tectonic Framework ◽  
The Himalaya

The Himalaya, the Karakoram and Tibet were assembled by the successive accretion to Asia of continental and arc terranes during the Mesozoic and early Tertiary. The Jinsha and Banggong Sutures in Tibet join continental terranes separated from Gondwana. Ophiolites were obducted onto the shelf of southern Tibet in the Jurassic before the formation of the Banggong Suture. The Kohistan—Ladakh Terrane contains an island arc that was accreted in the late Cretaceous on the Shyok Suture and consequently evolved into an Andean-type batholith. Further east this TransHimalayan batholith developed on the southern active margin of Tibet without the prior development of an island arc. Ophiolites were obducted onto the shelf of India in the late Cretaceous to Lower Palaeocene before the closing of Tethys and the formation of the Indus—Yarlung Zangbo Suture at about 50 Ma. Post-collisional northward indentation of India at ca.5 cm a-1 since the Eocene has redeformed this accreted terrane collage; palaeomagnetic evidence suggests this indentation has given rise to some 2000 km of intracontinental shortening. Expressions of this shortening are the uplift of mid-crustal gneisses in the Karakoram on a late-Tertiary breakback thrust, folding of Palaeogene redbeds in Tibet, south-directed thrust imbrication of the foreland and shelf of the Indian Plate, north-directed back-thrusts along the Indus Suture Zone, post-Miocene spreading and uplift of thickened Tibet, giving rise to N—S extensional faults, and strike-slip faults, which allowed eastward escape of Tibetan fault blocks.

Regional framework and geodynamic evolution of the Indus-Tsangpo suture zone in the Ladakh Himalayas

1981 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. C. Thakur
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Geodynamic Evolution ◽  
Crystalline Complex ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Plutonic Complex ◽  
Tectonic Zones ◽  
Back Arc

ABSTRACTThe Indus-Tsangpo suture and its adjoining tectonic zones are well displayed in the Ladakh Himalayas where four tectonic zones have been distinguished, viz. the Zanskar, Indus suture, Shyok suture and Karakoram zones. The Zanskar zone is made up of Precambrian basement of the Zanskar crystalline complex and overlying Phanerozic sediments including Upper Palaeozoic volcanic rocks of the Zanskar Supergroup; they form the northern margin of the Indian plate. The Indus suture zone consists of a remnant of tectonised oceanic lithosphere represented by the Shergol melange and the Nidar complex with a former volcanic arc indicated by the volcanogenic Dras and Khardung formations and the Ladakh plutonic complex. The Shyok suture zone does not represent a tectonic repetition of the Indus suture; it is interpreted as a relic of a back-arc basin. The Karakoram plutonic complex appears to be genetically related to the Ladakh plutonic complex; both were generated from the subducting Indian oceanic plate. It is proposed that the boundary between the Indian and Eurasian plates does not lie along the Indus and Shyok sutures, but is located further N at the junction of Central Pamir (Alpine-Himalayan) and North Pamir (Hercynian).

Subduction-related magmatic imprint of most Philippine ophiolites: implications on the early geodynamic evolution of the Philippine archipelago

2004 ◽  
Vol 175 (5) ◽  
pp. 443-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo A. Tamayo* ◽  
René C. Maury* ◽  
Graciano P. Yumul ◽  
Mireille Polvé ◽  
Joseph Cotten ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Partial Melting ◽  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Island Arcs ◽  
Geodynamic Evolution ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Opening And Closing ◽  
Back Arc

Abstract The basement complexes of the Philippine archipelago include at least 20 ophiolites and ophiolitic complexes. These complexes are characterised by volcanic sequences displaying geochemical compositions similar to those observed in MORB, transitional MORB-island arc tholeiites and arc volcanic rocks originating from modern Pacific-type oceans, back-arc basins and island arcs. Ocean island basalt-like rocks are rarely encountered in the volcanic sequences. The gabbros from the ophiolites contain clinopyroxenes and plagioclases showing a wide range of XMg and An values, respectively. Some of these gabbros exhibit mineral chemistries suggesting their derivation from basaltic liquids formed from mantle sources that underwent either high degrees of partial melting or several partial melting episodes. Moreover, some of the gabbros display a crystallization sequence where orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene appeared before plagioclase. The major element compositions of coexisting orthopyroxenes and olivines from the mantle peridotites are consistent with low to high degrees of partial melting. Accessory spinels in these peridotites display a wide range of XCr values as well with some of them above the empirical upper limit of 0.6 often observed in most modern mid-oceanic ridge (MOR) mantle rocks. Co-existing olivines and spinels from the peridotites also exhibit compositions suggesting that they lastly equilibrated under oxidizing mantle conditions. The juxtaposition of volcanic rocks showing affinities with modern MOR and island arc environments suggests that most of the volcanic sequences in Philippine ophiolites formed in subduction-related geodynamic settings. Similarly, their associated gabbros and peridotites display mineralogical characteristics and mineral chemistries consistent with their derivation from modern supra-subduction zone-like environments. Alternatively, these rocks could have, in part, evolved in a supra-subduction zone even though they originated from a MOR-like setting. A simplified scenario regarding the early geodynamic evolution of the Philippines is proposed on the basis of the geochemical signatures of the ophiolites, their ages of formation and the ages and origins of the oceanic basins actually bounding the archipelago, including basins presumed to be now totally consumed. This scenario envisages the early development of the archipelago to be largely dominated by the opening and closing of oceanic basins. Fragments of these basins provided the substratum on top of which the Cretaceous to Recent volcanic arcs of the Philippines were emplaced.

Contributions from the detrital approach to unravelling the timing of India-Asia collision and Himalayan evolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yani Najman ◽  
Shihu Li
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Crustal Deformation ◽  
Earth Science ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Current Understanding ◽  
Indian Plate ◽  
Geophysical Research

<p>Knowledge of the timing of India-Asia collision and associated Tethyan closure in the region is critical to advancement of models of crustal deformation.   One of a number of methods traditionally used to constrain the time of India-Asia collision is the detrital approach. This involves determination of when Asian material first arrived on the Indian plate, with most recent estimates documenting collision at ca 60 Ma (e.g. Hu et al, Earth Science Reviews 2016). However, more recently, such data and a number of other approaches providing data previously used to determine the timing of India-Asia collision, have been controversially re-interpreted to represent collision of India with an Island arc, with terminal India-Asia collision occurring significantly later, ca 34 Ma (e.g. Aitchison et al, J. Geophysical Research 2007). Clearly, for the detrital approach to advance the debate, discrimination between Asian detritus and arc detritus is required. Such a discrimination was proposed in Najman et al (EPSL 2017), dating the timing of terminal India-Asia collision at 54 Ma. However, this evidence is far from universally accepted.  For example, such data are at variance with various palaeomagnetic studies which suggest that an oceanic Transtethyan subduction zone existed 600-2300 kms south of the Eurasian margin in the Paleocene  (e.g. Martin et al, PNAS 2020) and therefore these authors propose different explanations to explain the detrital data.  This presentation will discuss the uncertainties associated with our current understanding of the timing of India-Asia collision.</p>

Geology, petrology and tectonomagmatic evolution of the plutonic crustal rocks of the Sabzevar ophiolite, NE Iran

2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 862-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
MORTEZA KHALATBARI JAFARI ◽  
HASSAN A. BABAIE ◽  
MOJTABA MIRZAIE
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Magma Chambers ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Crustal Rocks ◽  
Microscopic Studies ◽  
Element Enrichment ◽  
Spider Diagrams ◽  
Ocean Ridge

AbstractThe plutonic crustal sequence exposed northeast of Sabzevar is part of the ophiolitic belt of Sabzevar that occurs along the northern margin of the Central Iran micro-continent. The sequence includes olivine and pyroxene gabbro with cumulate characteristics, isotropic gabbro, foliated gabbro and a diabase sheeted dyke complex cut by wehrlite and olivine websterite intrusions, and pegmatite gabbro and plagiogranite as small intrusions and dykes. The sequence is comparable to gabbros in known ophiolite complexes. Microscopic studies show an abundance of the mesocumulate and heteradcumulate textures that represent open system magma chambers, which are common in supra-subduction zones. The olivine → plagioclase → clinopyroxene → ± orthopyroxene → amphibole trend of mineralization in the gabbros, similar to mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB), and olivine → clinopyroxene → ± orthopyroxene → plagioclase → amphibole, similar to arc rocks, indicate the diversity in the formation of these rocks, and represent petrographic evidence of their formation in a supra-subduction zone. The rocks have calc-alkaline to tholeiitic affinities, and niobium depletion in the spider diagrams of diabase that matches the patterns of island arc magma. These patterns, and the light rare earth element enrichment of the diabase and plagiogranite, suggest the effect and introduction of the fluids, originating from the subducting slab, beneath the mantle wedge. The low titanium compositions, matching those of arc diabase and plagiogranite, plot in the island arc to MORB tectonomagmatic fields, and suggest formation of the Sabzevar ophiolitic plutonic crustal sequence in a supra-subduction zone during Late Cretaceous time.

Geodynamic evolution of Upper Cretaceous Zagros ophiolites: formation of oceanic lithosphere above a nascent subduction zone

2011 ◽  
Vol 148 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 762-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
HADI SHAFAII MOGHADAM ◽  
ROBERT J. STERN
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Radiometric Dating ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Suprasubduction Zone ◽  
Margin Distribution ◽  
Ophiolitic Belt ◽  
Felsic Rocks

AbstractThe Zagros fold-and-thrust belt of SW Iran is a young continental convergence zone, extending NW–SE from eastern Turkey through northern Iraq and the length of Iran to the Strait of Hormuz and into northern Oman. This belt reflects the shortening and off-scraping of thick sediments from the northern margin of the Arabian platform, essentially behaving as the accretionary prism for the Iranian convergent margin. Distribution of Upper Cretaceous ophiolites in the Zagros orogenic belt defines the northern limit of the evolving suture between Arabia and Eurasia and comprises two parallel belts: (1) Outer Zagros Ophiolitic Belt (OB) and (2) Inner Zagros Ophiolitic Belt (IB). These belts contain complete (if disrupted) ophiolites with well-preserved mantle and crustal sequences. Mantle sequences include tectonized harzburgite and rare ultramafic–mafic cumulates as well as isotropic gabbro lenses and isolated dykes within the harzburgite. Crustal sequences include rare gabbros (mostly in IB ophiolites), sheeted dyke complexes, pillowed lavas and felsic rocks. All Zagros ophiolites are overlain by Upper Cretaceous pelagic limestone. Limited radiometric dating indicates that the OB and IB formed at the same time during Late Cretaceous time. IB and OB components show strong suprasubduction zone affinities, from mantle harzburgite to lavas. This is shown by low whole-rock Al2O3and CaO contents and spinel and orthopyroxene compositions of mantle peridotites as well as by the abundance of felsic rocks and the trace element characteristics of the lavas. Similarly ages, suprasubduction zone affinities and fore-arc setting suggest that the IB and OB once defined a single tract of fore-arc lithosphere that was disrupted by exhumation of subducted Sanandaj–Sirjan Zone metamorphic rocks. Our data for the OB and IB along with better-studied ophiolites in Cyprus, Turkey and Oman compel the conclusion that a broad and continuous tract of fore-arc lithosphere was created during Late Cretaceous time as the magmatic expression of a newly formed subduction zone developed along the SW margin of Eurasia.

Tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Early Proterozoic Wisconsin magmatic terranes of the Penokean Orogen

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 2145-2158 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Sims ◽  
W. R. Van Schmus ◽  
K. J. Schulz ◽  
Z. E. Peterman
Keyword(s):  
Subduction Zone ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Alkali Feldspar ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
Island Arcs ◽  
Calc Alkaline ◽  
The South ◽  
Early Proterozoic ◽  
Felsic Volcanic

The Early Proterozoic Penokean Orogen developed along the southern margin of the Archean Superior craton. The orogen consists of a northern deformed continental margin prism overlying an Archean basement and a southern assemblage of oceanic arcs, the Wisconsin magmatic terranes. The south-dipping Niagara fault (suture) zone separates the south-facing continental margin from the accreted arc terranes. The suture zone contains a dismembered ophiolite.The Wisconsin magmatic terranes consist of two terranes that are distinguished on the basis of lithology and structure. The northern Pembine–Wausau terrane contains a major succession of tholeiitic and calc-alkaline volcanic rocks deposited in the interval 1860–1889 Ma and a more restricted succession of calc-alkaline volcanic rocks deposited about 1835 – 1845 Ma. Granitoid rocks ranging in age from about 1870 to 1760 Ma intrude the volcanic rocks. The older succession was generated as island arcs and (or) closed back-arc basins above the south-dipping subduction zone (Niagara fault zone), whereas the younger one developed as island arcs above a north-dipping subduction zone, the Eau Pleine shear zone. The northward subduction followed deformation related to arc–continent collision at the Niagara suture at about 1860 Ma. The southern Marshfield terrane contains remnants of mafic to felsic volcanic rocks about 1860 Ma that were deposited on Archean gneiss basement, foliated tonalite to granite bodies ranging in age from about 1890 to 1870 Ma, and younger undated granite plutons. Following amalgamation of the two arc terranes along the Eau Pleine suture at about 1840 Ma, intraplate magmatism (1835 Ma) produced rhyolite and anorogenic alkali-feldspar granite that straddled the internal suture.

Geochronology of the Twillingate Granite and Herring Neck Group, Notre Dame Bay, Newfoundland

1976 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1591-1601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harold Williams ◽  
R. D. Dallmeyer ◽  
R. K. Wanless
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Linear Array ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Late Ordovician ◽  
Island Arc ◽  
Zircon Age ◽  
Mafic Dike ◽  
Plate Convergence ◽  
Late Cambrian

Zircons from the Twillingate Granite form a linear array with a concordia intercept of 510 + 17 – 16 m.y. Mafic dikes that cut deformed granite along the southern contact of the pluton at New World Island record 40Ar/39Ar hornblende ages of 440 ± 10 and 473 ± 9 m.y. These ages indicate that the mafic dikes are Ordovician, and confirm their correlation with mafic volcanic rocks of the nearby Herring Neck Group. The dates also suggest that Herring Neck volcanism and mafic dike intrusion extended from Early to Late Ordovician. Together with the zircon age, they define a narrow chronologic bracket for intrusion, deformation, and metamorphism of the Twillingate Granite (`~510–475 m.y.).Within the central portion of the Twillingate pluton. a metamorphosed mafic dike cutting massive granite and an amphibolite inclusion within Foliated granite yield similar,40Ar/39Ar hornblende ages of 443 ± 11 and 438 ± 9 m.y. These ages are anomalously young compared with the 473 m.y. age of a mafic dike cutting deformed granite at New World Island. They are interpreted to indicate prolonged metamorphism and/or slower post-meta mo rphic cooling for central portions of the pluton compared to its southern margin.The isotopic ages support the view that the Twillingate Granite and nearby mafic volcanic rocks are collectively part of a single island-arc complex. The granite may have been generated during a period of subduction as sociated with plate convergence and closing of the proto-Atlantic ocean. A 510 m.y. (Late Cambrian) age for the granite suggests that convergence began rather early in the evolution of the Northern Appalachians. In addition, where dated Newfoundland ophiolite suites appear to be younger than, or contemporaneous with some granitic plutons (such as Twillingate), it is likely that they formed in a marginal ocean basin environment behind an older island-arc terrane.Les zircons du granite de Twillingate forment un réseau linéaire avec intercept à 510 + 17 – 16 Ma. Les dykes mafiques qui recoupent le granite déformé le long de la bordure sud du pluton à New World Island donnent des âges 40Ar/39Ar pour la hornblende de 440 ± 10 et de 473 ± 9 Ma. Ces âges indiquent que les dykes mafiques sont Ordoviciens et confirment leurs liens avec des roches mafiques volcaniques du groupe de Herring Neck dans le voisinage. Les dates suggèrent aussi que le volcanisme de Herring Neck et l'intrusion de dykes mafiques se sont produits du début à la fin de l'Ordovicien. Avec les âges des zircons, ils définissent un intervalle de temps assez court pour l'intrusion, la déformation et le métamorphisme du granite de Twillingate (~510–475 Ma).A l'intérieur de la portion centrale du pluton de Twillingate, un dyke mafique métamorphisé recoupant un granite massif et une inclusion d'amphibolite dans un granite foliacé donnent des âges 40Ar/39Ar semblables pour les hornblendes de 443 ± 11 et 438 ± 9 Ma. Ces âges sont anormalement faibles si on les compare avec l'âge de 473 Ma du dyke mafique qui recoupe le granite déformé de New World Island. On les interprète comme indiquant un métamorphisme prolongé et/ou un refroidissement post-métamorphique plus lent pour les portions centrales du pluton par comparaison à sa bordure sud.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document