Paleoproterozoic Granulites in the North China Craton and Their Geological Implications

Abstract

It is well known that there are widespread Paleoproterozoic high-grade rocks, mainly garnet amphibolites and granulites, in the North China Craton. The granulites could be classified into two types, the high-pressure granulites and (ultra-) high-temperature granulites. The high-pressure granulites mainly distribute in the Huai'an-Xuanhua, Hengshan, Fuping, Zanhuang, Qianlishan-Helanshan, and Jiaobei regions (the central and east of the craton), while the (ultra-)high-temperature granulites distribute mainly in the Liangcheng-Jining-Zhuozi and the Daqingshan regions (west of the northern margin of the craton). Nevertheless, (ultra-) high-temperature granulites have been also discovered in northeast Hebei, north Henan, Shandong and Liaoning provinces, and the Korean peninsula, and some drilling cores from under the Ordos basin, though some of them might be formed in the Late Archean. The Paleoproterozoic high-grade metamorphism has partly overprinted on the Late Archean low-to high-grade rocks. Both types of granulites have recorded clockwise P-T paths, which might indicate a process similar to those happened in the Phanerozoic orogenic belts. In the past 20-30 years, several different tectonic models have been introduced to interpret the environments of the Paleoproterozoic granulites in the North China Craton. However, there are several things need to be clarified before any conclusion, e.g., (1) the distribution of the different types of high-grade rocks; (2) the relationship between the high-pressure granulites and the (ultra-)high-temperature granulites; and (3) the exhumation rate and genetic mechanism of these rocks. These Paleoproterozoic high-grade rocks in the North China Craton are more complex than any high-grade rocks in the Phanerozoic orogens, and await further study.

Petrology, phase equilibria modelling and zircon U–Pb geochronology of Paleoproterozoic mafic granulites from the Fuping Complex, North China Craton

“…Mafic and pelitic granulites are widely exposed in several basement terranes within the TNCO, including, from south to north, the Fuping, Hengshan, Xuanhua-Huai'an and Chengde Complexes ( Fig. 1a; Zhao et al, 2000b;Zhang et al, 2006Zhang et al, , 2016aGuo et al, 2015).…”

“…These high‐grade metamorphic rocks are proposed to have been formed during the collisional event which resulted in the final cratonization of the NCC (e.g. Zhao et al ., ,b, ; Guo et al ., ). The Fuping Complex (FPC) is one of the important basement terranes within the central segment of the TNCO, where typical mafic and pelitic granulites are exposed.…”

Late Neoarchean crust-mantle geodynamics: Evidence from Pingquan Complex of the Northern Hebei Province, North China Craton

“…Magmatic precursors of the granitoid gneisses were emplaced at ~2.55-2.50 Ga, and they were subsequently intruded by potassic granites at ~2.49 Ga, ~2.44 Ga, and ~2.0 Ga (Zhang et al, 2011;Liu et al, 2012b). All these lithologies were overprinted by ~1.85 Ga granulite facies metamorphism, forming high-pressure mafic granulites and charnockitic to S-type granites (Guo et al, 2002(Guo et al, , 2005(Guo et al, , 2015cZhao et al, 2008Zhao et al, , 2010Wu et al, 2016b). The Neoarchean Chengde Complex has been commonly known as the "Dantazi Complex", and is separated from the Paleoproterozoic Hongqiyingzi Complex in the north by the Chongli-Damiao Fault (Fig.…”

Paleoproterozoic Plate Tectonics Recorded in the Northern Margin Orogen, North China Craton

“…1.95-1.80 Ma) high-grade metamorphic rocks (e.g., garnet amphibolites and granulites) in the central and northern North China craton (e.g., Guo et al, 2015;Lu et al, 2008;Peng et al, 2014;Zhai & Santosh, 2011;Zhao & Zhai, 2013;Zhao et al, 2005). Zhai et al (1992Zhai et al ( , 1993) identified a Paleoproterozoic high-pressure and high-pressure granulite rocks throughout the northern North China craton that experienced clockwise isothermal decompression P-T paths that may be related to a continent-continent collisional event (Guo et al, 2015;Zhai, 2011). The high-pressure granulites are mainly distributed in the central portion of the craton and include the Chicheng (ultra-) high-pressure granulites, whereas the (ultra-)high-temperature granulites are mainly distributed in the northern cratonal margin (e.g., Guo et al, 2015).…”