Lateral variation of the strength of lithosphere across the eastern North China Craton: New constraints on lithospheric disruption

Destruction of the North China Craton: a perspective based on receiver function analysis

“…Eventually, the lower crustal and (or) lithospheric delamination (Z.J. Zhang et al ., ) would result in lithospheric thinning and craton destruction (Zhang et al ., ).…”

Continental dynamics of Eastern China: Insights from tectonic history and receiver function analysis

“…1b) , an inference that is also supported by high regional gravity (Zhang et al, 2010a) and higher average Vp (Zhang et al, 2012e). The mafic/ultramafic composition of the lower crust can be generated by lower crustal magmatic underplating (e.g.…”

Lithospheric structure beneath the central and western North China Craton and the adjacent Qilian orogenic belt from Rayleigh wave dispersion analysis

“…The craton was tectonically stable before the Middle Ordovician and then underwent significant reactivation and destruction, especially since 200 Ma (e.g., Gao et al, 2002;Griffin et al, 1998;Menzies et al, 1993). In eastern NCC, the thick (N180 km), cold (~40 mW/m 2 ) and depleted Paleozoic lithosphere was widely replaced by a thin (b100 km), hot (~65 mW/m 2 ) and relatively fertile lithosphere in the Mesozoic to Cenozoic time, accompanied by voluminous magmatism and intensive tectonic extension (e.g., Chen et al, 2006;Li et al, 2009;Menzies et al, 1993;Ren et al, 2002;Zhang et al, 2012). In contrast, the central and western NCC are characterized by the coexistence of both preserved thick and significantly thinned lithosphere and marked structural (e.g., Bao et al, 2011;Jiang et al, 2013;Zhao et al, 2009) and chemical heterogeneities (e.g., Wang et al, 2006;Xu, 2007).…”

“…1) is a natural laboratory to study the stabilization and destruction of old cratons, because the different parts of NCC behaved differently during its Phanerozoic tectonic evolution. In contrast to the severe destruction and widespread thinning of the lithosphere in eastern NCC (e.g., Chen et al, 2006Chen et al, , 2008Griffin et al, 1998;Li et al, 2009;Menzies et al, 1993;Zhang et al, 2012), the central and western NCC only experienced localized lithospheric modification and thinning and its nucleus has remained rigid and stable since the Precambrian (e.g., Chen et al, 2009;Wang et al, 2006;Xu, 2007). Numerous observations suggest that the deep subduction of the Pacific Plate may have played a key role in the lithospheric reactivation of eastern NCC (e.g., Sun et al, 2007;Wu et al, 2003;Zhu et al, 2011).…”