Diachroneity of continental subduction and exhumation:Constraints from the Permian-Triassic HP metamorphic terrane in the Tongbai orogen, central China

High-pressure(HP)metamorphic terrane in the Tongbai orogen comprises two HP slices(I and II)and a tectonic mélange zone in the northeast and a blueschist-greenschist zone in the southwest.HP slice I is represented by the northern and southern eclogite zones on the two sides of the Tongbaishan antiform.HP slice II is represented by retrograded eclogite-bearing metamorphic enclaves in Cretaceous gneissic granites in the Tongbai Complex.U-Pb,Lu-Hf,Rb-Sr and40Ar/39Ar multichronometric data indicate that the peak metamorphism of HP slice I took place at^255 Ma,whereas the metamorphic ages of HP slice II are as young as232–220 Ma.By contrast,the tectonic mélange zone near the suture was metamorphosed at^256 Ma.Such a diachroneity of different slices across the direction of the orogen in the Hong’an-Dabie-Sulu HP/UHP terrane is ubiquitous,and it can be interpreted by a syn-subduction detachment/exhumation model.Furthermore,the metamorphic age of HP slice I in the Tongbai orogen is older than that of the equivalent HP slice in the Hong’an orogen by^15 Ma,suggesting that the diachroneity may have also existed along the direction of the orogen.A seesaw-type subduction/exhumation model is proposed to explain this age disparity and the subduction of the South China Block becomimg shallower towards the west.

High-pressure （HP） metamorphic terrane in the Tongbai orogen comprises two HP slices （I and II） and a tectonic m61ange zone in the northeast and a blueschist-greenschist zone in the southwest. HP slice I is represented by the northern and southern eclogite zones on the two sides of the Tongbaishan antiform. HP slice II is represented by retrograded eclogite-bearing metamorphic en- claves in Cretaceous gneissic granites in the Tongbai Complex. U-Pb, Lu-Hf, Rb-Sr and 4Ar/39Ar multichronometric data indi- cate that the peak metamorphism of HP slice I took place at -255 Ma, whereas the metamorphic ages of HP slice II are as young as 232-220 Ma. By contrast, the tectonic melange zone near the suture was metamorphosed at -256 Ma. Such a diachroneity of dif- ferent slices across the direction of the orogen in the Hong＇an-Dabie-Sulu HP/UHP terrane is ubiquitous, and it can be interpreted by a syn-subduction detachment/exhumation model. Furthermore, the metamorphic age of HP slice I in the Tongbai orogen is older than that of the equivalent HP slice in the Hong＇an orogen by ~15 Ma, suggesting that the diachroneity may have also ex- isted along the direction of the orogen. A seesaw-type subduction/exhumation model is proposed to explain this age disparity and the subduction of the South China Block becomimg shallower towards the west.