Insights into the tectonic evolution of the North China Craton through comparative tectonic analysis: A record of outward growth of Precambrian continents

Kusky, Timothy; Polat, Ali; Windley, Brian F.; Burke, Kevin; Dewey, John; Kidd, William; Maruyama, S.; Wang, J.P.; Deng, Hao; Wang, Z.S.; Wang, Cong; Fu, Dong; Li, X.W.; Peng, Hongtao

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.09.002

Cited by 326 publications

(170 citation statements)

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“…This corresponds with regional high‐grade metamorphism between ~2530 and 2470 Ma [ W. Wang et al ., ], suggesting that the continental crust in the region was finally stabilized (Figure a). The widespread emplacement of late Neoarchean potassic granitoid gneisses is consistent with the tectonic models for the Eastern Block of the North China Craton that was stabilized by the end of the Archean [ Liu et al ., ; Kusky , ; Wan et al ., ; Zhao et al ., ; Kusky et al ., ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Zhai and Santosh [] divided the Archean crystalline basement of North China Craton into seven blocks (Jiaoliao, Qianhuai, Xuhuai, Xuchang, Jining, Ordos, and Alashan), which were considered to have amalgamated largely along the greenstone belts during the late Archean. Recently, Kusky and coauthors suggested that crustal growth in the North China Craton occurred in a sequential, clockwise direction through the development of a series of sutures at 2.7 Ga, 2.5 Ga, 2.43 Ga, 2.3 Ga, and 1.9 Ga [ Kusky et al ., ]. A major ~2.5 Ga suture zone constitutes the Central Orogenic Belt, which records final end Archean collision between the N‐S trending late Archean Wutai/Fuping arc and the Eastern Block [ Deng et al ., ].…”

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cyclic formation and stabilization of Archean lithosphere by accretionary orogenesis: Constraints from TTG and potassic granitoids, North China Craton

et al. 2017

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Accretionary orogens are major sites of modern continental growth, yet their role in the development of Archean continental crust remains enigmatic. Diverse granitoid suites from tonalite‐trondhjemite‐granodiorite (TTG) to potassic granitoids appeared during late Archean, representing a period of major continental formation and stabilization. In this study, whole‐rock geochemical and zircon U‐Pb and Lu‐Hf isotopic data are reported for Neoarchean granitoid gneisses from the Northern Liaoning Terrane, northeastern North China Craton (NCC). Older granitoid gneisses (~2592–2537 Ma) define three magmatic zones migrating from southeast to northwest, each showing a common magmatic evolution from high‐pressure TTGs to medium‐/low‐pressure TTGs and potassic granitoids. They have depleted zircon ƐHf(t) of +0.5 to +8.7. Younger ~2529–2503 Ma potassic granitoids and TTGs occur throughout the terrane, which are marked by variable zircon ƐHf(t) of −4.7 to +8.1, and are coeval with regional high‐grade metamorphism. Petrogenetic modeling and changing Sr/Y and (La/Yb)N of the granitoids suggest that the crust experienced episodic thickening and thinning and became progressively evolved through development of potassic granitoids and sedimentary successions. The metavolcanic basement to the granitoids display tholeiitic to calc‐alkaline affinities, together with the top‐to‐the‐northwest thrusting and associated volcanogenic massive sulfide‐type Cu‐Zn deposits, suggesting cyclic crustal formation of Northern Liaoning within an accretionary orogen with a SE‐dipping subduction polarity. Cyclic crustal thickening and thinning is related to tectonic switching from advancing to retreating relations between the downgoing and overriding plate. After ~2530 Ma, this accretionary system accreted to the ancient continental nucleus of NCC (Anshan‐Benxi Terrane), signifying final lithosphere stabilization.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyclic formation and stabilization of Archean lithosphere by accretionary orogenesis: Constraints from TTG and potassic granitoids, North China Craton

et al. 2017

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“…The NCC was stabilized during the late Archean, but subsequently experienced progressive destruction of the lithosphere (decratonization) during the Mesozoic, generating a series of controversies. One of the ongoing debates concerns the age of final cratonization and the appropriate geological model for formation of the NCC (Kusky, ; Kusky & Li, ; Kusky, Li, & Santosh, ; Kusky et al., ; Kröner, Wilde, Li, & Wang, ; Li & Kusky, ; Trap, Faure, Lin, Breton, & Monié, ; Wang, ; Wang et al., ; Yang, Wu, Wilde, Belousova, & Griffin, ; Zhai, ; Zhai, Guo, & Liu, ; Zhang, Luo, Zhou, & Liu, ; Zhao, Sun, Wilde, & Li, ; Zhao et al., , ; Zheng et al., ). An early model, based on lithological, structural, metamorphic and geochronological data, subdivided the Precambrian basement of the NCC into Eastern and Western Blocks separated by the TNCO (Zhao, Cawood, Wilde, Min, & Lu, ; Zhao, Wilde, Cawood, & Lu, , ; Zhao et al., ), but other models have also been proposed (Kusky et al., , ).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges in constraining theP–Tconditions of mafic granulites: An example from the northern Trans‐North China Orogen

Huang

Brown

Guo

et al. 2018

Journal Metamorphic Geology

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Some mafic granulites in the Sanggan area of the northern Trans‐North China Orogen (TNCO) have a relatively simple mineralogy with low energy grain shapes that are compatible with an assumption of equilibrium, but the rock‐forming minerals show variations in composition that create challenges for thermobarometry. The mafic granulites, which occur as apparently disrupted dyke‐like bodies in tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite gneisses, are divided into two types based on petrography and chemical composition. Type 1 mafic granulites are fine‐ to medium‐grained with an equilibrated texture and an assemblage of plagioclase+clinopyroxene+garnet+magnetite+ilmenite and sometimes minor hornblende±orthopyroxene. Type 2 mafic granulites are coarse‐grained and hornblende bearing with a peak assemblage of garnet+clinopyroxene+plagioclase+hornblende and variably developed coronae and symplectites of plagioclase+hornblende+orthopyroxene partially replacing porphyroblastic garnet±clinopyroxene. SIMS U–Pb dating of metamorphic zircon from two type 1 mafic granulites yields metamorphic ages of c. 1.84 and 1.83 Ga, consistent with published ages of the type 2 mafic granulites. Based on phase equilibrium modelling, we use the common overlap of P–T fields defined by the mineral assemblage limits, and the mole proportion and composition isopleths of different minerals in each sample to quantify the metamorphic conditions. For type 1 granulites, overlap of the mineral proportion and composition fields for each of three samples yields similar P–T conditions of 710–880°C at 0.57–0.79 GPa, 820–850°C at 0.59–0.63 GPa and 800–860°C at 0.59–0.68 GPa. For the type 2 granulites, overlaying the peak assemblage fields for three samples yields common P–T conditions of 870–890°C at 1.1–1.2 GPa. For the retrograde assemblage, overlap of the mineral proportion and composition fields for each sample yields similar P–T conditions of 820–840°C at 0.85–0.88 GPa, 860–880°C at 0.83–0.86 GPa and 880–930°C at 0.89–0.95 GPa. The P–T conditions appear distinct between the two types of mafic granulite, with the mineralogically simple type 1 mafic granulites recording the lowest pressures. However, there are significant uncertainties associated with these results. For the granulites, there are uncertainties related to the determination of modes and composition of the equilibration volume, particularly estimation of O and H2O contents, and in the phase equilibrium modelling there are uncertainties that propagate through the calculation of mole proportions and mineral compositions. The compound uncertainties on pressure and temperature for high‐T granulites are large and the results of our study show that it may be unwise to rely on P–T conditions determined from the simple intersection of calculated mineral composition isopleths alone. Since the samples in this study are from a limited area—a few hundred square metres—we infer that they record a single P–T path involving both decompression and cooling. However, there is no evidence of the high‐P granuli...

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“…The Zanhuang Massif/Complex, with good exposures of TTG, supracrustal successions, and potassic granitoids (HBGMR, ; Yang et al, , ), is located in the eastern‐most margin of the central section of the Central Orogenic Belt (COB) or Trans‐North China Craton (TNCO; Figure c; e.g., Zhao et al, ). Recent studies imply that parts of it belong to the Eastern Block of the NCC (Trap et al, ; Trap, Faure, Lin, Breton, & Monié, ), while other parts belong to the TNCO or the Central Orogenic Belt (Kusky et al, ; Wang et al, ; Wang, Kusky, et al, ) or the Fuping Block (Trap et al, , Trap et al, ). Therefore, it is a key area to clarify the structural and age relationships of the early convergent and collisional orogenesis between the eastern block and the western block and any intervening arc or accretionary terranes (Trap et al, ; Wang et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zircon U–Pb ages and geochemistry of the late Archaean granitoids in the Zanhuang Complex: Records of an arc–continent collision event at the end of Archaean

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2019

Geological Journal

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The late Archaean witnessed a critical transition of the composition of the continental crust from predominantly sodic tonalite‐trondhjemite‐granodiorites (TTGs) to a combination of TTGs and increasing proportion of potassic calc‐alkaline granitoids. This shift is also well recorded in the Zanhuang Complex located in the central part of the North China Craton (NCC). In this work, we present a detailed geochemical study of these granitoids and subdivide them into four groups, that is, TTGs, sanukitoids, crustal‐sourced granitoids, and hybrid granitoids. The TTGs in the Zanhuang Complex may have formed at a longer and earlier period during ~2.7 to ~2.5 Ga as the first stage. They show typical TTG characteristics, such as high SiO2, Na2O, and Sr/Y and depletion of Nb, Ta, Ti, and HREE. The TTGs are interpreted to have formed in a subduction‐related environment. The other three groups of granitoids formed at a shorter and later stage. The sanukitoid sample shows high MgO and Mg# and other geochemical signatures of typical Archaean sanukitoid affinity, yielding a weighted mean zircon 207Pb/206Pb age of 2,517 ± 5 Ma as the crystallization age. The sanukitoid magma derived from partial melting of a hydrous mantle peridotite source metasomatized by slab‐derived melts or fluids. The crustal‐sourced granitoids, including a new sample (~2,510 Ma) in this work, the Jiandeng granite (~2,490 Ma), and the Huangcha/Wangjiazhuang granite (2,488 to 2,517 Ma) show signatures of a mainly crustal source such as high SiO2 and K2O, low MgO and Mg# values, and weakly peraluminous. The hybrid granitoids represented by the Haozhuang granitoid (2,511 to 2,528 Ma) are characterized by enrichment in both incompatible (LILE and LREE) and compatible (Mg, Ni, and Cr) elements and may have formed by mixing/contamination of multiple magmas or sources. The temporal and spatial distributions of these groups of granitoids indicate that the Zanhuang Complex experienced a subduction–collision event between the Fuping arc and the Eastern Block of the NCC at the end of Archaean.

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Insights into the tectonic evolution of the North China Craton through comparative tectonic analysis: A record of outward growth of Precambrian continents

Cited by 326 publications

References 233 publications

Cyclic formation and stabilization of Archean lithosphere by accretionary orogenesis: Constraints from TTG and potassic granitoids, North China Craton

Cyclic formation and stabilization of Archean lithosphere by accretionary orogenesis: Constraints from TTG and potassic granitoids, North China Craton

Challenges in constraining theP–Tconditions of mafic granulites: An example from the northern Trans‐North China Orogen

Zircon U–Pb ages and geochemistry of the late Archaean granitoids in the Zanhuang Complex: Records of an arc–continent collision event at the end of Archaean

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