Evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Altai-Sayan Region, Central Asia) and collision of possible Gondwana-derived terranes with the southern marginal part of the Siberian continent

Detrital zircons from Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks in the Yili Block: Constraints on the affinity of microcontinents in the southern Central Asian Orogenic Belt

“…Microcontinents and continental fragments are considered to have been incorporated into the CAOB during its accretion (Windley et al, 2007;Gao et al, 2011;Kröner et al, 2012;Alexeiev et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2015aZhang et al, ,b,c, 2016. However, their origins are still controversial, with some researchers assuming that some microcontinents within the CAOB had a Gondwana derivation and were then accreted onto the southern margin of the Siberian Craton (Zonenshain et al, 1990;Buslov et al, 2001;Dobretsov et al, 2003;Kheraskova et al, 2003;Laurent-Charvet et al, 2003;Xiao et al, 2010). In contrast, models that favor the origin of the Siberian Craton have been proposed recently (Berzin and Dobretsov, 1994;Sengör and Natal'in, 1996;Kuzmichev et al, 2001;Turkina et al, 2007;Zhou et al, 2009Zhou et al, , 2010aZhou et al, ,b,c, 2011.…”

Geochemistry, zircon U–Pb ages and Hf isotopes of the Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the northwestern Chinese Altai: Petrogenesis and tectonic implications

“…Sengör et al, 1993;Windley et al, 2007;Cawood et al, 2009), during which various terrains (e.g. ophiolites, seamounts, island arcs and microcontinents) were accreted onto the southern margin of the Siberia Craton (Buslov et al, 2001;Badarch et al, 2002;Khain et al, 2003;Kuzmichev et al, 2005;Windley et al, 2007;Kelty et al, 2008;Xiao et al, 2008Xiao et al, , 2009). Long-lasting accretionary process results in mélanges, disorder of regional stratigraphy and development of thrust faults, while subduction of oceanic crust brings crustal materials into mantle and enhances intensive crust-mantle interactions (Sengör and Natal'in, 1996).…”

Tectonics and Geodynamics of the Altai-Junggar Orogen in the Vendian-Paleozoic: Implications for the Continental Evolution and Growth of the Central Asian Fold Belt

“…The recent results from detailed geological mapping, structural analysis and geochronological studies [Buslov et al, 2001[Buslov et al, , 2003Korobkin, Buslov, 2011;Smirnova et al, 2002;Cai et al, 2011aCai et al, , 2011bCai et al, , 2011cCai et al, , 2014Chen et al, 2015] were used to identify the following tectonic elements of the Central Asian fold belt [Buslov, 2011;Dobretsov, Buslov, 2007, 2011Buslov et al, 2013] (Fig. 1):…”