Chunfu Zhang

Carboniferous and Permian evolutionary records for the Paleo‐Tethys Ocean constrained by newly discovered Xiangtaohu ophiolites from central Qiangtang, central Tibet

Reconstructing the evolutionary history of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean remains at the center of debates over the linkage between Gondwana dispersion and Asian accretion. Identifying the remnants of oceanic lithosphere (ophiolites) has very important implications for identifying suture zones, unveiling the evolutionary history of fossil oceans, and reconstructing the amalgamation history between different blocks. Here we report newly documented ophiolite suites from the Longmu Co-Shuanghu Suture zone (LSSZ) in the Xiangtaohu area, central Qiangtang block, Tibet. Detailed geological investigations and zircon U-Pb dating reveal that the Xiangtaohu ophiolites are composed of a suite of Permian (281–275u2009Ma) ophiolites with a nearly complete Penrose sequence and a suite of Early Carboniferous (circa 350u2009Ma) ophiolite remnants containing only part of the lower oceanic crust. Geochemical and Sr-Nd-O isotopic data show that the Permian and Carboniferous ophiolites in this study were derived from an N-mid-ocean ridge basalts-like mantle source with varied suprasubduction-zone (SSZ) signatures and were characterized by crystallization sequences from wet magmas, suggesting typical SSZ-affinity ophiolites. Permian and Carboniferous SSZ ophiolites in the central Qiangtang provide robust evidence for the existence and evolution of an ancient ocean basin. Combining with previous studies on high-pressure metamorphic rocks and pelagic radiolarian cherts, and with tectonostratigraphic and paleontological data, we support the LSSZ as representing the main suture of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean which probably existed and evolved from Devonian to Triassic. The opening and demise of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean dominated the formation of the major framework for the East and/or Southeast Asia.

Metamorphic records for subduction erosion and subsequent underplating processes revealed by garnet‐staurolite‐muscovite schists in central Qiangtang, Tibet

Subduction erosion is confirmed as a crucial geodynamic process of crustal recycling based on geological, geochemical, and geophysical observations at modern convergent plate margins. So far, not a single metamorphic record has been used for constraining a general tectonic evolution for subduction erosion. Here we first revealed metamorphic records for a subduction erosion process based on our study of the Late Paleozoic garnet-staurolite-muscovite schists in the central Qiangtang block, Tibet. Provenance analyses suggest that the protoliths of garnet-staurolite-muscovite schists have the Northern Qiangtang-affinity and were deposited in an active continental margin setting. Mineral inclusion data show that the early metamorphic stage (M1) recorded blueschist facies pressure-temperature (P-T) conditions of 0.8–1.1 GPa and 402–441°C, indicating that a part of the material from the overriding plate had been abraded into the subduction channel and undergone high-pressure/low-temperature metamorphism. The peak metamorphic stage (M2) recorded amphibolite facies P-T conditions of 0.3–0.5 GPa and 470–520°C. The 40Ar/39Ar cooling ages (263–259 Ma) yielded from muscovite suggest the amphibolite facies metamorphism (>263 Ma) occurred at oceanic subduction stage. The distinctly staged metamorphism defines a clockwise and warming decompression P-T-t path which reveals an underplating process following the early subduction erosion. During the tectonic process, the eroded low-density material escaped from the cold subduction channel and rise upward into the warm middle-lower crust of the upper plate, undergoing amphibolite facies metamorphism. Our new results revealed a complete evolutional process from the early subduction erosion to the subsequent underplating during the northward subduction of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean.

High pressure granulite‐facies overprinting during the exhumation of eclogites in the Bangong–Nujiang suture zone, central Tibet: link to flat‐slab subduction

The geometric transformation of a descending plate, such as from steep to flat subduction in response to a change from normal to overthickened oceanic crust during subduction, is a common and important geological process at modern or fossil convergent margins. However, the links between this process and the metamorphic evolution of the exhumation of oceanic (ultra)high pressure eclogites are poorly understood. Here, we report detailed petrological, mineralogical, phase equilibria, and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) zircon and rutile U-Pb age data for the Dong Co eclogites at the western segment of the Bangong–Nujiang suture zone, central Tibet. Our data reveal that the Dong Co eclogites experienced peak eclogite-facies metamorphism (T = 610–630 °C, P = 2.4–2.6 GPa) and underwent multiple stages of retrograde metamorphism. P–T pseudosections and compositional isopleths of garnet define a complex clockwise P–T–t path (including two stages of decompression-dominated P–T path and one of isobaric heating), suggesting varying exhumation velocities. Combining previous studies with our new results, we suggest that the transformation from rapid to slow exhumation is dominated by the transition from steep to flat subduction. The flat-slab segment, caused by subduction of buoyant oceanic plateau, led to an extremely slow exhumation and a strong overprinting of HP granulite facies at a depth of ~50 km at ~177 Ma. The slab roll-back that followed in response to a substantial density increase of the eclogitized oceanic plateau resulted in another rapid exhumation process at ~168 Ma and triggered the formation of abundant near-simultaneous or later magmatic rocks.

Sr‐Nd‐Hf‐O isotope geochemistry of the Ertaibei pluton, East Junggar, NW China: Implications for development of a crustal‐scale granitoid pluton and crustal growth

To better understand the compositional diversity of plutonic complexes and crustal growth of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), we conducted an integrated study of the Ertaibei pluton, which obtained geochronological, petrological, geochemical, and isotopic (including whole rock Sr-Nd, in-situ zircon Hf-O) data. The pluton (ca. 300 Ma) is composed of granodiorites that contain mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs), dolerite dikes, and granite dikes containing quartz–tourmaline orbicules. The dolerite dikes were possibly generated by melting of an asthenospheric mantle source, with discrete assimilation of lower crustal components in the MASH (melting, assimilation, storage, and homogenization) zone. The MMEs originated from hybridization between mantle- and crust-derived magmas, which spanned a range of melting depths (∼25 – 30 km) in the MASH zone and were episodically tapped. Melting of the basaltic lower crust in the core of the MASH zone generated magmas to form the granodiorites. The granite dikes originated from melting of an arc-derived volcanogenic sedimentary source with a minor underplated basaltic source in the roof of the MASH zone (∼25 km). The compositional diversity reflects both the magma sources and the degree of maturation of the MASH zone. Although having mantle-like radiogenic isotope compositions, the Ertaibei and other post-collisional granitoids show high zircon δ18O values (mostly between +6 and +9‰), indicating a negligible contribution to the CAOB crustal growth during the post-collisional period.