From the formation of Rodinia at the end of the Mesoproterozoic to the commencement of Pangea breakup at the end of the Paleozoic, the South China craton fi rst formed and then occupied a position adjacent to Western Australia and northern India. Early Neoproterozoic suprasubduction zone magmatic arc-backarc assemblages in the craton range in age from ca. 1000 Ma to 820 Ma and display a sequential northwest decrease in age. These relations suggest formation and closure of arc systems through southeast-directed subduction, resulting in progressive northwestward accretion onto the periphery of an already assembled Rodinia. Siliciclastic units within an early Paleozoic succession that transgresses across the craton were derived from the southeast and include detritus from beyond the current limits of the craton. Detrital zircon age spectra require an East Gondwana source and are very similar to the Tethyan Himalaya and younger Paleozoic successions from Western Australia, suggesting derivation from a common source and by inference accumulation in linked basins along the northern margin of Gondwana, a situation that continued until rifting and breakup of the craton in the late Paleozoic.

Locating South China in Rodinia and Gondwana: A fragment of Greater India Lithosphere? (Invited)

The assembling of the Eurasian continent occurred from the Proterozoic to the Mesozoic over a time span of nearly one billion years (Scotese & McKerrow, 1990; Şengör & Natal'in, 1996; Sone & Metcalfe, 2008; Yin & Nie, 1996). It was accomplished primarily by the closure of the Paleo-Asian and Tethyan ocean systems, involving cratonal blocks separated from the supercontinents Columbia, Rodinia, and Pangea (e.g., Badarch et al., 2002; Biske & Seltmann, 2010; Heubeck, 2001; Kusky et al., 2007; S. Li et al., 2018; Rogers & Santosh, 2002; Şengör & Natal'in, 1996; Stampfli & Borel, 2002; C. Wu et al., 2016a; Yin & Nie, 1996; G. C. Zhao et al., 2018; Zonenshain et al., 1990; Zuza & Yin, 2017) (Figure 1). The Paleo-Asian and the Tethyan oceanic domains are separated by the Tarim and North China cratons whose geologic histories are critical for deciphering the interactions of the two orogenic systems to the north and south. A major obstacle for establishing the geologic history of Tarim and North China cratons is that the two tectonic entities are currently bounded by Cenozoic structures along the southern margin of the Tian Shan and the northern margin of the Tibetan plateau (Figure 1). These structures have either reactivated or strongly modified the earlier tectonic configurations of the region (e.g., Yin & Nie, 1996). For example, Cenozoic structures that bound the southern margin of Tarim and North China cratons overprinted Mesozoic extensional basins (X. Chen et al., 2003; Vincent & Allen, 1999), an early Paleozoic arc-continent collision system (e.g., S. Song Abstract The Proterozoic-Phanerozoic evolution of the Tarim and North China cratons is integral to the construction of the Eurasian continent. Throughout the Paleozoic, these continents were bound by the Paleo-Asian and Tethyan Oceans to the north and south, respectively, and, thus, their paleogeography is critical to reconstructions of the oceanic domains. Specifically, it remains uncertain whether the Tarim and North China cratons were contiguous during the Paleozoic. Geologic observations from the Qilian Shan and Longshou Shan of western China provide valuable information regarding the paleotectonic relationships of these continents. Here we present detailed field, geochronological, and geochemical observations from key locations in the Qilian Shan and Longshou Shan to decipher complex relationships between the Kunlun-Qaidam, North China, and Tarim continents. Paleoproterozoic deformation might have been associated with the northern North China orogen, whereas a Neoproterozoic collisional orogen occurred between the Kunlun-Qaidam-South Tarim and the North China-North Tarim. Subsequent late Neoproterozoic rifting led to the opening of the Qilian ocean as an embayed marginal sea, and the PaleoAsian Ocean developed along the northern margin of the North China craton. South-dipping subduction, arc magmatism, slab rollback, and convergence between Kunlun-Qaidam and North China continued throughout the Early Silurian, which were recorded in the Qilian Shan and Longshou Shan regions. Our updated geotectonic framework requires reevaluation of previously published paleogeographic models, including ones that suggest the North China craton was affixed to Gondwana in the early Paleozoic. It is further considered a possible connection between the North China and southern Africa at ca. 2.05 Ga.

Punctuated Orogeny During the Assembly of Asia: Tectonostratigraphic Evolution of the North China Craton and the Qilian Shan From the Paleoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic

An oblique subduction model for closure of the Proto-Tethys and Palaeo-Tethys oceans and creation of the Central China Orogenic Belt

Qaidam block situated in the interior of Rodinia and Gondwana: New magmatic and metamorphic constraints

Granulite is in general a key metamorphic rock that can be used to understand the tectonic architecture and evolutionary history of an orogenic belt. The Qingshuiquan mafic granulite in the East Kunlun orogenic belt, northern Tibetan Plateau, occurs as tectonic boudins together with lower-grade ophiolitic mélange assemblages within an amphibolite-facies crystalline basement. In this study, we investigated the geochemistry, geochronology, mineralogy, and phase modeling of the Qingshuiquan mafic granulite. Based on mineralogical observations and microstructures, three mineral assemblage generations were distinguished: an assemblage found as inclusions within garnet and amphibole comprising clinopyroxene + plagioclase + amphibole + quartz + ilmenite + rutile (M1); an inferred peak assemblage of garnet + clinopyroxene + plagioclase + amphibole + quartz + ilmenite ± orthopyroxene (M2) in the matrix; and a retrograde assemblage of amphibole and biotite coronae (M3) around clinopyroxene or orthopyroxene. Thermobarometric calculations and phase equilibrium modeling constrained a clockwise pressure-temperature (P-T) path for the Qingshuiquan mafic granulite with peak T conditions of 830−860 °C at 8.0−9.5 kbar. Prior to the peak T conditions, a pressure maximum of ∼11 kbar at ∼800 °C was recorded by rutile, ilmenite, and clinopyroxene inclusions in garnet and amphibole. The retrograde path was defined by a decompression segment followed by final cooling. The whole-rock geochemical results indicated that the protolith of the Qingshuiquan mafic granulite was similar to present-day enriched mid-ocean-ridge basalt (E-MORB) displaying low total rare earth element (REE) concentrations and a slight enrichment of light REEs, as well as flat high field strength element patterns in the primitive mantle−normalized trace-element diagram. Geochronologic results revealed that the protolith crystallization age of the mafic granulite is 507 ± 3 Ma, and the timing of granulite-facies metamorphic overprint is 457−455 Ma. This evidence, taken together with results from previous studies, indicates that the protolith of the Qingshuiquan mafic granulite can be interpreted as basaltic rocks of Proto-Tethys oceanic crust that experienced a first high-pressure granulite-facies imprint followed by subsequent decompression and granulite-facies overprint at slightly lower P and slightly higher T. This granulite-facies metamorphism can be attributed to the subduction of Proto-Tethys oceanic crust, which also generated numerous contemporaneous subduction-related magmatic rocks in the East Kunlun orogenic belt.

Pressure-temperature evolution of the Qingshuiquan mafic granulite: Implications for Proto-Tethys subduction in the East Kunlun orogenic belt, northern Tibetan Plateau

The earliest Cambrian UHT metamorphism in the Qaidam block, western China: A record of the final assembly of Greater Gondwana?

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The earliest Cambrian UHT metamorphism in the Qaidam block, western China: A record of the final assembly of Greater Gondwana?