Geochemical characteristics of Late Triassic sandstones in the western part of Bayan Har Basin, Northern Tibetan Plateau, Western China: Constraints on provenance, source weathering, tectonic setting, and palaeoenvironment

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (7) ◽  
pp. 5275-5293
Author(s):  
Xinwang Lin ◽  
Zhenkai Zhang ◽  
Xiangdong Liu ◽  
Ning Chen ◽  
Tong Wu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Geochemical Characteristics ◽  
Western China ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Bayan Har

Integrated analyses constraining the provenance of sandstones, mudstones, and conglomerates, a case study: the Laojunshan conglomerate, Qilian orogen, northwest China

2007 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 961-986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Yan ◽  
Wenjiao Xiao ◽  
Zongqi Wang ◽  
Jilian Li
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Middle Devonian ◽  
Tectonic Setting ◽  
Active Continental Margin ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Qilian Orogen ◽  
North Qilian

The Qilian orogenic belt in the northern Tibetan plateau connects the Altaids to the north with the Tethyan orogenic system to the south and occupies a key tectonic position in the evolution and assembly of Asia. The belt contains a wide range of subduction–accretion-related petrotectonic units. The Early–Middle Devonian Laojunshan conglomerate, deposited unconformably upon Cambrian–Silurian strata along the northern margin of the North Qilian terrane, contains a record of the late Paleozoic tectonism of the Qilian orogen. Its provenance and tectonic setting are critical in understanding not only the tectonic evolution of Tibetan plateau, but Paleozoic global reconstructions as well. The composition of clastic conglomerates and heavy mineral assemblages of sandstones suggests that coeval mafic, felsic, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks were the main sources. The geochemistry of volcanic clasts and paleocurrent and paleogeographic data suggest derivation from subduction–accretion complexes in the North Qilian terrane. The geochemistry of siltstones and mudstones indicates that the Laojunshan conglomerate was derived from an arc and accumulated in an active continental margin. Geochemical data of granitoid clasts suggest that they were derived from Ordovician–Silurian subduction-related magmatic rocks. Mafic and ultramafic clasts, chromite, and magnetite decrease upwards in the stratigraphy whereas metamorphic, sedimentary and granitoid clasts, and garnet increase. These data imply that mafic rocks were the predominant source during initial deposition. Regional studies suggest that the North China plate subducted southwards and produced subduction-related arc magmatism along the southern margin of the North Qilian terrane during the Early–Middle Devonian. Therefore, we interpret the Laojunshan conglomerate as a fore-arc basin fill.

Petrogenesis and tectonic implications of the Late Triassic Nangou granodiorite porphyry in the Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt, northern Tibetan Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (7) ◽  
pp. 801-813
Author(s):  
Jiaming Yan ◽  
Fengyue Sun ◽  
Ye Qian ◽  
Nan Tian ◽  
Zhengping Yan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Oceanic Lithosphere ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Magma Source ◽  
Isotopic Data ◽  
Heavy Rare Earth Element ◽  
Geological Processes ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau

Triassic granitic magmatism is widespread in the Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt (EKOB), northern Tibetan Plateau. Some of the granitoids are characterized by high Sr and low Y contents, and consequently high Sr/Y ratios. These high Sr/Y-ratio granitoids are often interpreted as adakitic rocks, originating from the thickened continental lower crust. However, studies have shown that granitoids with high Sr/Y ratios may have formed via other geological processes. This paper reports U–Pb ages, geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data for newly discovered granodiorite porphyries in the Kunlun River area of the Eastern Kunlun Orogenic Belt, and discusses whether the EKOB experienced crustal thickening during the Triassic. The granodiorite porphyries crystallized at 205 Ma. They have some adakitic characteristics with SiO2 = 66.96–69.68 wt.%, Sr/Y ratios = 31–43, La/Yb = 26.9–57.9, Y = 8.47–11.3, Yb = 0.75–1.30, and MgO = 0.44–0.99 wt.%. However, the relatively flat heavy rare earth element patterns indicate that garnet was not the main residue in the magma source. In addition, combined with Nd–Hf isotopic data, these results indicate that the timing of the original generation of the crustal sources of the granodiorites should be Mesoproterozoic, with the involvement of older (Paleoproterozoic) components. The granodiorite porphyries were emplaced in a post-collisional environment after the northward subduction of Paleo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere, and without thickening of the continental crust.

scholarly journals A New HP–UHP Eclogite Belt Identified in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Tracing the Extension of the Main Palaeo-Tethys Suture Zone

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huining Wang ◽  
Fulai Liu ◽  
Zaibo Sun ◽  
Lei Ji ◽  
Jianjiang Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Oceanic Crust ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
Ultrahigh Pressure ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Metamorphic Belt ◽  
Middle Cambrian ◽  
Southeastern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau

Abstract The Changning–Menglian orogenic belt (CMOB) in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau is an important link between the Longmu Co–Shuanghu suture (LCSS) in the northern Tibetan Plateau and the Chiang Mai–Inthanon and Bentong–Raub sutures in Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia. These belts and sutures are generally regarded as containing the remnants of the oceanic crust of the Palaeo-Tethys that formed by seafloor spreading as a result of the separation of Gondwana- and Eurasia-derived blocks during the Middle Cambrian. In this paper we report the first discovery of abundant unaltered and retrograde eclogites that occur as irregular lenses and blocks in metasedimentary rocks of the CMOB, and these eclogites form an elongate and almost north–south-trending high-pressure (HP)–ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt that is ∼200 km long and ∼50 km wide. The newly discovered phengite/talc/epidote–glaucophane eclogites, lawsonite–talc–phengite eclogites, dolomite/magnesite–kyanite eclogites and phengite–kyanite-bearing retrograde eclogites have enriched (E-) and normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB)-like affinities and mainly positive as well as some negative whole-rock εNd values (–4·34 to +7·89), which suggest an enriched and depleted oceanic lithosphere source for their protoliths. Magmatic zircons separated from the epidote–glaucophane, magnesite–kyanite and (phengite–kyanite-bearing) retrograde eclogites gave protolith ages of 317–250 Ma, which fit well within the time frame of the opening of the Palaeo-Tethys during the Middle Cambrian and its closure during the Triassic. Abundant metamorphic zircons in the eclogites indicate a Triassic metamorphic event related to the subduction of the Palaeo-Tethys oceanic crust from 235 to 227 Ma. Taking into account previous isotopic age data, we now establish the periods of Early–Middle Triassic (246–227 Ma) and Late Triassic (222–209 Ma) as the ages of subduction and exhumation of the Palaeo-Tethyan oceanic crust, respectively. Thermodynamic modelling revealed that the eclogites record distinct HP–UHP peak metamorphic conditions of 23·0–25·5 kbar and 582–610 °C for the phengite–glaucophane eclogites, 24·0–25·5 kbar and 570–586 °C for the talc–glaucophane eclogites, 29·0–31·0 kbar and 675–712 °C for the dolomite–kyanite eclogites, and 30·0–32·0 kbar and 717–754 °C for the magnesite–kyanite eclogites. These P–T estimates and geochronological data indicate that the Palaeo-Tethys oceanic slab was subducted to different mantle depths from 75 km down to 95 km, forming distinct types of eclogite with a variety of peak eclogite-facies mineral assemblages. The eclogites consistently record clockwise metamorphic P–T–t paths characterized by a heating–compression prograde loop under a low geothermal gradient of 5–10 °C km–1, indicating the rapid subduction of cold oceanic crust at a rate of 4·5–6·0 km Ma–1, followed by isothermal or cooling–decompressive retrogression and exhumation at an average rate of 3·2–4·2 km Ma–1. The newly discovered eclogites of the CMOB with their signatures of ocean-crust subduction are petrologically, geochemically and geochronologically comparable with those of the LCSS, providing powerful support for the idea that a nearly 2000 km long HP–UHP eclogite belt extends from the northern Tibetan Plateau to the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, and that it represents the main boundary suture of the Palaeo-Tethyan domain. These results have far-reaching implications for the tectonic framework and complex metamorphic evolution of the Palaeo-Tethyan domain.

scholarly journals Sr-Nd isotope evidence for modern aeolian dust sources in mountain glaciers of western China

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (211) ◽  
pp. 859-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianzhong Xu ◽  
Guangming Yu ◽  
Shichang Kang ◽  
Shugui Hou ◽  
Qianggong Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Tien Shan ◽  
Western China ◽  
Dust Transport ◽  
Northern Margin ◽  
Isotopic Signatures ◽  
Mountain Glaciers ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Dust Sources

AbstractIn order to apportion the dust sources of mountain glaciers in western China, the Sr-Nd isotopic compositions of insoluble particles were determined in snow samples collected from 13 sites. The combined plot of 87Sr/86Sr and εNd(0) demonstrates a distinctive geographic pattern over western China, which can be classified into three regions from north to south. Samples from the Altai mountains show the lowest 87Sr/86Sr ratio and the highest εNd(0) value, similar to the data of deserts in the north of China such as the Gurbantunggut desert. Samples from the southern Tibetan Plateau (TP) and Himalaya show the highest 87Sr/86Sr and lowest εNd(0) values, resembling the local and regional dust sources found in the southern TP and Himalaya-India region. Samples from the Tien Shan and northern Tibetan Plateau exhibit intermediate 87Sr/86Sr and εNd(0) values, similar to the data reported for the northern margin of the TP (NM_TP). However, three sampling sites, JMYZ (Jiemayangzong) located in the Himalaya and ZD (Zadang) and YL (Yulong) located in the southeast TP, presented distinctive Sr-Nd isotopic signatures typical of the NM_TP, suggesting potential long-range and high-altitude dust transport across the TP.

Pliocene uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau

Geology ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 715-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbo Zheng ◽  
Christopher McAulay Powell ◽  
Zhisheng An ◽  
Jie Zhou ◽  
Guangrong Dong
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Northern Tibetan Plateau
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