Andrew V. Zuza

Tectonic development of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau as constrained by high-resolution deep seismic-reflection data

A 180-km-long, high-resolution seismic-reflection survey that imaged the entire crust and the uppermost mantle lithosphere was conducted across the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. This work had three aims: (1) to examine whether the left-slip Haiyuan and Tianjing faults defining the margin of NE Tibet are crustal- or lithospheric-scale structures, (2) to determine whether seismic fabrics are consistent with middle- and/or lower-crustal channel flow, and (3) to establish the minimum amount of Cenozoic shortening strain in the region. Analysis of our newly obtained seismic-reflection data suggests that the left-slip Haiyuan and Tianjing faults have multiple strands and cut through the upper and middle crust. The faults likely terminate at a low-angle detachment shear zone in the lower crust, because the flat Moho directly below the projected traces of the faults is continuous. The seismic image displays subvertical zones of highly reflective sequences containing parallel and subhorizontal reflectors that are truncated by seismically transparent regions with irregular shape. The transparent regions in the middle crust are traceable to the seismically transparent lower crust and are interpreted as early Paleozoic plutons emplaced during the construction of the Qilian arc in the region. The presence of the undisturbed subvertical contacts between zones of highly reflective and seismically transparent regions rules out the occurrence of channel flow in the middle crust, as this process would require through-going subhorizontal reflectors bounding the channel above and below. The lack of continuous reflectors longer than a few kilometers in the lower crust makes a laminar mode of channel flow unfavorable, but lateral lower-crustal flow could have occurred via small-scale ductile deformation involving folding (less than a few kilometers in wavelength and amplitude). Integrating surface geology and the seismic data, we find that the upper crust along a segment of the seismic surveying line experienced up to 46% crustal shortening postdating the Cretaceous and is thus interpreted as entirely accumulated in the Cenozoic. If the estimated shortening strain is representative across northeastern Tibet, its magnitude is sufficient to explain the current elevation of the region without an appeal for additional contributing factors such as channel flow and/or a thermal event in the upper mantle.

Testing models of Tibetan Plateau formation with Cenozoic shortening estimates across the Qilian Shan–Nan Shan thrust belt

Competing models that account for the construction of the Tibetan Plateau include continental subduction, underthrusting, distributed shortening, channel flow, and older crustal-structure inheritance. Well-constrained estimates of crustal shortening strain serve as a diagnostic test of these plateau formation models and are critical to elucidate the dominant mechanism of plateau development. In this work we estimate the magnitude of Cenozoic shortening across the northern Qilian Shan–Nan Shan thrust belt, along the northeastern plateau margin, based on detailed analysis and reconstruction of three high-resolution seismic reflection profiles. By integrating surface geology, seismic data, and the regional tectonic history, we demonstrate that this thrust system has accumulated >53% Cenozoic strain (∼50 km shortening), accommodated by several south-dipping thrust faults. Based on the observed strain distribution across northern Tibet, including lower strain (30%–45%) within the interior of the Qilian Shan–Nan Shan thrust belt, we suggest that a combination of distributed crustal shortening and minor (

Pre-Cenozoic geologic history of the central and northern Tibetan Plateau and the role of Wilson cycles in constructing the Tethyan orogenic system

In order to better constrain the evolution of the Tethyan orogenic system, we conducted an integrated investigation involving U-Pb dating of igneous and detrital zircon, geochemical analysis of igneous rocks, compositional analysis of sedimentary strata, and a synthesis of existing work across the Qilian Shan, Qaidam Basin, and the Eastern Kunlun Range of central and northern Tibet. This effort reveals five stages of arc magmatism at 1005–910 Ma, 790–720 Ma, 580–500 Ma, 490–375 Ma, and 290–195 Ma, respectively. Arc activities were interrupted by repeated continent-continent collision followed by ocean opening along the older suture zones first created in the Neoproterozoic. This suggests that Wilson cycles have played a controlling role in constructing the southern Asian continent. The magmatic history and regional geologic constraints allow us to construct a coherent tectonic model that has the following key features. (1) The linked South Qilian suture in the west and North Qinling suture in the east formed the northern boundary of the coherent Kunlun–Qaidam–North Qinling Terrane in the early Paleozoic. (2) The Songpan-Ganzi Terrane has been the western part of the Yangtze craton since the Neoproterozoic. (3) Development of the wide (>700 km) Permian–Triassic arc across the Kunlun-Qaidam Terrane was induced by flat subduction and rapid slab rollback, which also caused extreme extension of the Songpan-Ganzi Terrane. (4) The formation of the Anymaqen-Kunlun-Muztagh Ocean (= the Neo–Kunlun Ocean in this study) was created within Laurasia rather than being a preexisting ocean between Gondwana and Laurasia as postulated by most early studies.

Geochronology and geochemistry of Neoproterozoic granitoids in the central Qilian Shan of northern Tibet: Reconstructing the amalgamation processes and tectonic history of Asia

Our understanding of the assembly history of Asia depends critically on the tectonic relationships between its major cratons, including Siberia, North China, South China, and Tarim. The intervening microcontinents between these cratons can provide insight into the paleogeographic and paleotectonic relationships of the cratons, but there is currently a general lack of knowledge regarding the basement geology of these microcontinents. Here we present results from systematic geologic mapping, U-Pb zircon dating, whole-rock geochemical analysis, and synthesis of existing data to establish the Proterozoic to early Paleozoic evolution of the central Qilian basement to the south of the North China craton in northwest China. Our results indicate that the region underwent three major periods of magmatic activity at 960–880, 877–710, and 550–375 Ma. Our geochemical analysis suggests that the ca. 900 Ma plutons were generated during arc magmatism and/or syncollisional crustal melting, whereas the ca. 820 Ma plutons are A-type granitoids, which are typically associated with extensional tectonism. Igneous zircons from a high- and ultrahigh-pressure eclogite in the north-central Qilian Shan have a U-Pb age of ca. 916 Ma, whereas dating of the recrystallized rims suggests that eclogite facies metamorphism occurred at ca. 485 Ma. Our detrital zircon geochronology also indicates that a widespread metasedimentary unit in the region was deposited between ca. 1200 and ca. 960 Ma, prior to the onset of a rift-drift event at ca. 750 Ma. Based on regional geologic constraints and the magmatic history, we propose the following tectonic history: (1) the paleo–Qilian Ocean bound the combined North Tarim–North China craton to the south (present-day coordinates) in the Mesoproterozoic; (2) the paleo–Qilian Ocean closed between 900 and 820 Ma following the collision of North Tarim–North China craton and the South Tarim–Qaidam–Kunlun continent; (3) the younger Qilian Ocean opened at ca. 775 Ma along the previous suture trace of the paleo–Qilian Ocean as a marginal sea within southern Laurasia; and (4) this ocean closed by ca. 445–440 Ma as a result of collision between the Tarim–North China cratons and the Qaidam-Kunlun continent along a south-dipping subduction system.

Balkatach hypothesis: A new model for the evolution of the Pacific, Tethyan, and Paleo-Asian oceanic domains

The Phanerozoic history of the Paleo-Asian, Tethyan, and Pacific oceanic domains is important for unraveling the tectonic evolution of the Eurasian and Laurentian continents. The validity of existing models that account for the development and closure of the Paleo-Asian and Tethyan Oceans critically depends on the assumed initial configuration and relative positions of the Precambrian cratons that separate the two oceanic domains, including the North China, Tarim, Karakum, Turan, and southern Baltica cratons. Existing studies largely neglect the Phanerozoic tectonic modification of these Precambrian cratons (e.g., the effects of India-Arabia-Eurasia convergence and post-Rodinia rifting). In this work we systematically restore these effects and evaluate the tectonic relationships among these cratons to test the hypothesis that the Baltica, Turan, Karakum, Tarim, and North China cratons were linked in the Neoproterozoic as a single continental strip, with variable along-strike widths. Because most of the tectonic boundaries currently separating these cratons postdate the closure of the Paleo-Asian and Tethyan Oceans, we are able to establish a >6000-km-long Neoproterozoic contiguous continent referred to here as Balkatach (named from the Baltica–Karakum– Tarim–North China connection). By focusing on the regional geologic history of Balkatach’s continental margins, we propose the following tectonic model for the initiation and evolution of the Paleo-Asian, Tethyan, and Pacific oceanic domains and the protracted amalgamation and growth history of the Eurasian continent. (1) The early Neoproterozoic collision of the combined Baltica–Turan–Karakum–South Tarim continents with the linked North Tarim– North China cratons led to the formation of a coherent Balkatach continent. (2) Rifting along Balkatach’s margins in the late Neoproterozoic resulted in the opening of the Tethyan Ocean to the south and unified Paleo-Asian and Pacific Oceans to the north (present-day coordinates). This process led to the detachment of Balkatach-derived microcontinents that drifted into the newly formed Paleo-Asian Ocean. (3) The rifted microcontinents acted as nuclei for subduction systems whose development led to the eventual demise of the Paleo-Asian Ocean during the formation of the Central Asian Orogenic System (CAOS). Closure of this ocean within an archipelago-arc subduction system was accommodated by counterclockwise rotation of the Balkatach continental strip around the CAOS. (4) Initial collision of central Balkatach and the amalgamated arcs and microcontinents of the CAOS in the mid-Carboniferous was followed by a bidirectional propagation of westward and eastward suturing. (5) The closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the early Permian was accompanied by a widespread magmatic flare up, which may have been related to the avalanche of the subducted oceanic slabs of the Paleo-Asian Ocean across the 660 km phase boundary in the mantle. (6) The closure of the Paleo-Tethys against the southern margin of Balkatach proceeded diachronously, from west to east, in the Triassic–Jurassic.

Tectonic evolution of the Qilian Shan: An early Paleozoic orogen reactivated in the Cenozoic

The Qilian Shan, located along the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, has experienced multiple episodes of tectonic deformation, including Neoproterozoic continental breakup, early Paleozoic subduction and continental collision, Mesozoic extension, and Cenozoic intracontinental orogenesis resulting from the India-Asia collision. In the central Qilian Shan, pre-Mesozoic ophiolite complexes, passive-continental margin sequences, and strongly deformed forearc strata were juxtaposed against arc plutonic/ volcanic rocks and ductilely deformed crystalline rocks during the early Paleozoic Qilian orogen. To better constrain this orogen and the resulting closure of the Neoproterozoic–Ordovician Qilian Ocean, we conducted an integrated investigation involving geologic mapping, U-Th-Pb zircon and monazite geochronology, whole-rock geochemistry, thermo barometry, and synthesis of existing data sets across northern Tibet. The central Qilian Shan experienced two phases of arc magmatism at 960–870 Ma and 475–445 Ma that were each followed by periods of protracted continental collision. Integrating our new data with previously published results, we propose the following tectonic model for the Proterozoic–Paleozoic history of northern Tibet. (1) Early Neoproterozoic subduction accommodated the convergence and collision between the South Tarim–Qaidam and North Tarim–North China continents. (2) Late Neoproterozoic rifting partially separated a peninsular Kunlun-Qaidam continent from the southern margin of the linked Tarim–North China craton and opened the Qilian Ocean as an embayed marginal sea; this separation broadly followed the trace of the earlier Neoproterozoic suture zone. (3) South-dipping subduction along the northern margin of the Kunlun-Qaidam continent initiated in the Cambrian, first developing as the Yushigou supra-subduction zone ophiolite and then transitioning into the continental Qilian arc. (4) South-dipping subduction, arc magmatism, and the convergence between Kunlun-Qaidam and North China continued throughout the Ordovician, with a trenchparallel intra-arc strike-slip fault system that is presently represented by high-grade metamorphic rocks that display a pervasive right-lateral shear sense. (5) Counterclockwise rotation of the peninsular KunlunQaidam continent toward North China led to the closure of the Qilian Ocean, which is consistent with the right-lateral kinematics of intra-arc strike-slip faulting observed in the Qilian Shan and the westward tapering mapview geometry of Silurian flysch-basin strata. Continental collision at ca. 445–440 Ma led to widespread plutonism across the Qilian Shan and is recorded by recrystallized monazite (ca. 450–420 Ma) observed in this study. Our tectonic model implies the parallel closure of two oceans of different ages along the trace of the Qilian suture zone since ca. 1.0 Ga. In addition, the Qilian Ocean was neither the Protonor Paleo-Tethys (i.e., the earliest ocean separating Gondwana from Laurasia), as previously suggested, but was rather a relatively small embayed sea along the southern margin of the Laurasian continent. We also document >200 km of Cenozoic north-south shortening across the study area. The observed shortening distribution supports models of Tibetan Plateau development that involve distributed crustal shortening and southward underthrusting of Eurasia beneath the plateau. This India-Asia convergence-related deformation is focused along the sites of repeated ocean closure. Major Cenozoic left-slip faults parallel these sutures, and preexisting subduction-mélange channels may have facilitated Cenozoic shortening and continental underthrusting.

Structural and Tectonic Framework of the Qilian Shan‐Nan Shan Thrust belt, Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Shan-Nan Shan thrust belt (QNS) is the widest thrust belt on the Tibetan Plateau (Fig. 1). Located along the northeastern margin of the plateau, the style and magnitude of deformation in the QNS have important implications for how Cenozoic shortening induced by the Andrew ZUZA , Robin REITH , An YIN , DONG Shuwen , LIU Wencan ,ZHANG Yuxiu and WU Chen, 2013.Structural and Tectonic Framework of the Qilian Shan-Nan Shan Thrust belt, Northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition), 87(supp.): 1-3.

The Trace Element Distribution Patterns of Ediacaran-Early Cambrian Black Shales and the Origin of Selenium in the Guangning Area, Western Guangdong Province, South China

The Ediacaran and early Cambrian black shales are widespread across the South China Craton (Yangtze and Cathaysia blocks). However, the trace element distribution patterns of the Ediacaran and early Cambrian black shales in the Cathaysia Block are still unclear. In this study, thirtyfour black shale samples in the Lechangxia Group (Ediacaran) and thirteen black shale samples in the lower Bacun Group (early Cambrian) from Guangning area, western Guangdong Province, South China, were analyzed for major and trace elements concentrations. Compared to the upper continental crust, the Ediacaran black shales exhibit strongly enriched Se, Ga, and As with enrichment factor values (EF) higher than 10, significantly enriched Bi and Rb (10>EF>5), weakly enriched Mo, Ba, Cs, V, In, Be, Tl, and Th (5>EF>2), normal U, Cr, Cd, Sc, Pb, Cu, and Li (2>EF>0.5), and depleted Ni, Zn, Sr, and Co. Early Cambrian black shales display strongly enriched Se, Ga, and As, significantly enriched Ba, Bi, and Rb, weakly enriched Mo, Cs, Cd, V, U, Be, In, and Tl, normal Sc, Th, Cr, Li, Cu, Ni, and Pb and depleted Co, Zn, and Sr. Moreover, Se is the most enriched trace element in the Ediacaran and early Cambrian black shales: concentrations vary from 0.25 to 30.09 ppm and 0.54 to 5.01 ppm, and averaging 4.84 and 1.72 ppm, with average EF values of 96.87 and 34.32, for the Ediacaran and early Cambrian shales respectively. The average concentration of Se in the Ediacaran black shales is 2.8 times higher than that of early Cambrian black shales. Se contents in the Ediacaran and early Cambrian black shales exhibit significant variation (P = 0.03). Provenance analysis showed that Se contents of both the Ediacaran and early Cambrian black shales were without detrital provenance and volcanoclastic sources, but of hydrothermal origin. The deep sources of Se and the presence of pyrite may explain the higher Se contents in the Ediacaran black shales. Similar with the Se-rich characteristics of the contemporaneous black shales in the south Qingling Mountain and Yangtze block, the Ediacaran and early Cambrian black shales in Guangning area, Cathaysia, are also enriched in Se, which may provide a clue for looking for the selenium-rich resources in western Guangdong Province.