In this study, we investigate the age and geochemical variability of volcanic arc rocks found in the Chinese, Kyrgyz, and Tajik North Pamir in Central Asia. New geochemical and geochronological data together with compiled data from the literature give a holistic view of an early to mid-Carboniferous intraoceanic arc preserved in the northeastern Pamir. This North Pamir volcanic arc complex involves continental slivers in its western reaches and transforms into a Cordilleran-style collision zone with arc-magmatic rocks. These are hosted in part by Devonian to Carboniferous oceanic crust and the metamorphic Kurguvad basement block of Ediacaran age (maximum deposition age) in Tajikistan. We discuss whether a sliver of Carboniferous subduction-related basalts and intruded tonalites close to the Chinese town of Mazar was part of the same arc. LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating of zircons, together with whole rock geochemistry derived from tonalitic to granodioritic intrusions, reveals a major Visean to Bashkirian intrusive phase between 340 and 320 Ma ago. This clearly postdates Paleozoic arc-magmatic activity in the West Kunlun by ~100 Ma. This observation, along with geochemical evidence for a more pronounced mantle component in the Carboniferous arc-magmatic rocks of the North Pamir, disagrees with the common model of a continuous Kunlun belt from the West Kunlun into the North Pamir. Moreover, Paleozoic oceanic units younger than and west of the Tarim cratonic crust challenge the idea of a continuous cratonic Tarim-Tajik continent beneath the Pamir.

Abstract. The North Pamir, part of the western syntax of the India–Asia collision zone, preserves remnants of a poorly understood Paleozoic intra-oceanic subduction zone. To constrain the age of this ancient ocean floor, we analyzed calcite phases in vesicular basalt and basaltic volcanic breccia with U–Pb geochronology using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Dating of radial fibrous to equant spary calcite yielded three meaningful Visean–Serpukhovian ages. Rare-earth elements and yttrium (REE + Y) data reveal that the basaltic host rock of the calcite and oxidizing seawater are major sources of trace elements during calcite precipitation. U–Pb ages seem to be independent of REE + Y concentrations. Our results demonstrate the potential of calcite dating to constrain the age of ancient ocean floors. We challenge the hypothesis that a continuous early Paleozoic Kunlun Terrane extended from northern Tibet into the North Pamir.

<p>The Pamir forms the northwestern tail of the Tibetan plateau and is a first-order tectonic feature of the Cenozoic Indo-Eurasian collision. The nature of the topographic uplift and orogenic growth of the entire northwestern margin of the Pamir is poorly constrained; however, this history can provide important constraints that are required to test geodynamic models of the tectonic evolution of the Pamir. Here we focus on the uplift history of the western and northwestern unglaciated margin of the Northern Pamir, the Darvaz and the Peter-the-First Ranges. These three ranges were formed by three major fault systems: the Main Pamir Thrust (MPT), the Darvaz and the Vakhsh fault zones (DFZ, VFZ). To assess the impact of tectonic uplift on the geomorphic evolution, we analyzed geomorphic characteristics of the topography, the longitudinal river profiles and the relief. To better constrain the regional crustal cooling history and uplift, we obtained thermochronologic cooling ages from the three regions.</p><p>We present 19 new zircon (U-Th-Sm)/He (ZHe) ages, 7 apatite fission track (AFT) ages, and 4 apatite (U-Th-Sm)/He (AHe) ages, ranging between >200 and 4 Ma, 14 and 4 Ma, and 15 and 3 Ma, respectively. The three units are characterized by unique Neogene cooling pathways, suggesting that they exhumed independently.</p><p>We discovered extensive low-relief landscapes with Neogene sedimentary cover uplifted ~2 km in elevation above the present-day regional base level. Our analysis indicates that the Panj and Vakhsh rivers form the regional base levels for the river network draining the entire northern and western margin of the Pamir. In the hanging wall of DFZ, the Paleozoic bedrock is characterized by significant relief (>1 km), the Neogene cover onlaps directly onto this Paleozoic bedrock. The tributary rivers crossing these landscapes are characterized by gentle, concave upstream longitudinal profiles at high elevation. These are interrupted by major knickpoint zones and steep downstream segments draining towards the deeply incised Panj and Vakhsh rivers. This indicates that the Darvaz Fault hanging wall had been uplifted and eroded prior to deposition of upper Neogene sediments, suggesting that the DFZ has a prolonged Neogene slip history. In contrast to the northeastern Pamir, here, the MPT-hanging-wall is characterized by reset late Oligocene-Early Miocene ZHe cooling ages ranging between 26 and 17 Ma. AFT and AHe-ages between 15 and 13 Ma suggest that exhumation suddenly terminated during the middle Miocene. In contrast, Jurassic sandstones exposed near the DFZ yield mostly un-reset Triassic-Jurassic ZHe ages (~250-170 Ma), a reset AFT age of ~5 Ma and a 2.5 Ma AHe age. Within the Peter-the-1st-Range, we obtained fully reset ~ 5 Ma ZHe ages, and ~4 Ma AFT ages. The rapid cooling trends since at least ~5 Ma suggest that deformation and a significant portion of crustal shortening propagated into the Tadjik foreland basin, causing enhanced uplift and erosion of the hanging wall of the VFZ and related faults. This deformation triggered ~2 km uplift of the entire northwest Pamir, recorded in uplifted paleo-landscapes and dissected tributaries of the Panj and Vakhsh rivers.</p>

<p>The Cenozoic Pamir comprises the western equivalent of the Tibetan plateau, offset to the north by ca. 300 km. A significant geodynamic question is what controls the lateral extent of the Pamir. Here we suggest that the width of the Pamir is controlled by east-west variations in the rheology of blocks farther to the north. In particular, the rigid, Precambrian-cored Tarim block, directly north of Tibet, apparently does not extend farther west. Indirect evidence for this crustal structure is derived from the late Paleozoic - early Mesozoic evolution of the northern and external Pamir. The northern part of the Western Kunlun comprises Proterozoic Tarim basement; such rocks are unknown on the northern margin of the Pamir. In the late Ordovician or Silurian, the Kudi suture formed, representing the consumption of the Proto-Tethys and the collision of Tarim with the southern part of the Western Kunlun terrain. Although the Western Kunlun has been considered to be the lateral equivalent of the North Pamir, the Kudi suture does not appear to be preserved in the Pamir. In contrast, the North Pamir preserves remnants of a broad Carboniferous ocean which are not recognized in the Western Kunlun. The northern margin of this ocean is unclear; it may have merged with the Turkestan ocean, on the southern margin of the Tian Shan. There are no documented basement units directly north of the Pamir; the basement Garm block lies at the northwest corner of the Pamir and may represent a fragment of Tarim which we suggest must have been rifted away by the Ordovician. The North Pamir Carboniferous deep marine units are unconformably overlain by upper Carboniferous and lower Permian shallow marine units at the eastern and western ends of the North Pamir, suggesting a contractile episode; the contact appears to be conformable in the central part. The lower Permian is overlain by an uppermost Permian - Triassic back-arc basin or rift, which stretches ca. 500 km east-west. There is no evidence that this basin extended into the Western Kunlun. Therefore, the location of the Cenozoic Pamir corresponds to the extent of both Carboniferous oceanic crust and Permo-Triassic extended or oceanic crust. We suggest that the differences between the Western Kunlun Shan and the North Pamir reflect the presence and absence, respectively, of the rigid Tarim block to the north. Although it has been suggested that the geometry of the Pamir reflects the geometry of a promontory at the northwest corner of the Indian indentor; this seems highly improbable given the pre-Cenozoic history. Rather, we suggest that differences in the evolution of the Pamir and Tibet are first-order consequences of the different rheologies of the northern crustal backstops of these two regions.</p>

Abstract. The North Pamir, part of the western syntax of the India-Asia collision zone, preserves remnants of a poorly investigated Paleozoic intra-oceanic subduction zone. To constrain the age of this ancient ocean floor, we analyzed calcite phases in vesicular basalt and basaltic volcanic breccia with U-Pb geochronology using laser-ablation inductively-coupled-plasma mass-spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Calcite dating yielded Mississippian ages, mostly overlapping each other within errors. REE + Y data reveal that the basaltic host rock of the calcite and oxidizing seawater are major sources of trace elements during calcite precipitation. U-Pb ages seem to be independent of REE + Y concentrations. Our results demonstrate the potential of calcite dating to constrain the age of ancient ocean floors and provide a test of the hypothesis that a continuous early Paleozoic Kunlun Terrane extended from northern Tibet into the North Pamir.