No abstract

The Central Orogenic Belt (COB) of China is a major continental collision zone that contains extensive outcrops of deeply subducted and exhumed rocks at both the eastern and the western end of the belt. Here we report discovery of microdiamonds from both eclogites and felsic gneisses in the North Qinling zone in the central portion of the COB. This discovery demonstrates that the country rocks of continental affinity shared in the ultra‐high‐pressure metamorphic (UHPM) event and provides a bridge connecting the two previously recognized UHPM terranes, thereby establishing the existence of a UHPM belt extending more than 4000 km. Geochronological dating yields Early Palaeozoic ages in the west and Early Mesozoic ages in the east, recording two separate continental collisions overprinted within the COB. Occurrence of UHP metamorphism during recurrent continental collision here and in the Alps suggests that deep subduction of continental material during such collisions is probably common rather than exceptional, with significant implications for processes of plate tectonic reorganization and mantle mixing over time.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The A'nyemaqen (阿尼玛卿) ophiolite belt along the southern margin of the East Kunlun (昆仑) Mountains marks the suture formed by the closure of paleo-Tethys. The Dur'ngoi ophiolite in the eastern part of this belt consists of meta-peridotite, mafic-ultramafic cumulates, sheeted dikes and basaltic lavas. The meta-peridotites consist of dunite, harzburgite, lherzolite, feldspar-bearing lherzolite and garnet-bearing lherzolite and contain residual spinel with Cr # [100×Cr/(Cr+Al)] ranging from 30 to 57 and Mg # [100×Mg/(Mg+Fe 2+ )] ranging from 50 to 75, indicating an Al-and Mg-rich series. The meta-peridotites have a relatively narrow range of composition with Mg # of 89.2-92.6, Al 2 O 3 contents of (1-4) wt.% and slightly depleted chondrite normalized REE patterns, indicating that they represent relict mantle material that has undergone intermediate to low degrees of partial melting. Garnets in the lherzolite are andradite, enriched in Ca and Fe and depleted in Mg and Al (And=95-97, Pyr=0.3-5, Gro=0-3), indicating a metamorphic origin. The cumulate rocks mainly consist of dunite, wehrlite, pyroxenite and gabbro. A well-layered gabbro-pyroxenite complex is defined by modal variations in plagioclase and pyroxene. Blocks of garnet-pyroxenite or rodingite are locally present in the meta-peridotites. Garnets in the cumulate rocks are grossular (Gro=69-90, And=9-19, Br=1-12), also metamorphic origin. The diabase dikes are moderately depleted in LREE [(La/Sm) N =0.5-0.8] and HREE resulting in slightly convex chondrite-normalized patterns with slightly positive Eu anomalies (δEu=1.1-1.3). The basaltic lavas have REE patterns similar to those of MORB with (La/Sm) N ratios of 0.5-1 and small negative Eu anomalies. They appear to have been derived from a depleted mantle source and to have undergone little or no differentiation during crystallization. SHRIMP U-Pb dating of zircons from the basalts yields 206 Pb/ 238 U ages of 276-319 Ma (average 308.0±4.9 Ma). The Dur'ngoi ophiolite is interpreted as a dismembered fragment of paleo-oceanic crust emplaced during closure of the paleo-Tethyan Ocean basin. Three other suites of oceanic lavas are recognized in the area: island arc volcanic (IAV) rocks, possible back arc basin (BAB) basalts and possible post-collisional volcanic (PCV) and plutonic rocks. The distribution of these rocks suggests north-directed subduction. Opening of the A'nyemaqen oceanic basin started at least as early as Late Carboniferous (308 Ma) and the basin probably closed during the Early Triassic. The IAV formed in Late Permian (260 Ma), the BAB in Early-Middle Triassic, and the PCV in Late Triassic. Several large scale, ductile, sinistral strike-slip fault zones, extending hundreds to thousands kilometers, formed along or north of the suture during the Early-Late Triassic, e.g., they are the south margin fault zone of East Kunlun (200-220 Ma), the Altyn Tagh fault (220-230 Ma), and the North Qaidam fault zone (240-250 Ma). These strike-slip faults were probably generated by oblique subduction and closure of the...

No abstract