The Qinling Complex of central China is thought to be the oldest rock unit and the inner core of the North Qinling Orogenic Belt (NQOB). Therefore, the Qinling Complex is the key to understanding the pre- Paleozoic ...The Qinling Complex of central China is thought to be the oldest rock unit and the inner core of the North Qinling Orogenic Belt (NQOB). Therefore, the Qinling Complex is the key to understanding the pre- Paleozoic evolution of the NQOB. The complex, which consists of metagraywackes and marbles, un- derwent regional amphibolite-facies metamorphism. In this study, we constrained the formation age of the Qinling Complex to the period between the late Mesoproterozoic and the early Neoproterozoic (ca. 1062-962 Ma), rather than the Paleoproterozoic as previously thought. The LA-ICP-MS data show two major metamorphic ages (ca. 499 and ca. 420-400 Ma) for the Qinling Complex. The former age is consistent with the peak metamorphic age of the high- and ultra-high pressure (HP-UHP) rocks in the Qinling Complex, indicating that both the HP-UHP rocks and their country rocks experienced intensive regional metamorphism during the Ordovician. The latter age may constrain the time of partial melting in the NQOB between the late Silurian and early Devonian. The Qinling Complex is mostly affiliated with subduction-accretion processes along an active continental margin, and should contain detritus deposited in a forearc basin.展开更多
基金financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41090374 and41272004)MOST Special Funds from the State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics
文摘The Qinling Complex of central China is thought to be the oldest rock unit and the inner core of the North Qinling Orogenic Belt (NQOB). Therefore, the Qinling Complex is the key to understanding the pre- Paleozoic evolution of the NQOB. The complex, which consists of metagraywackes and marbles, un- derwent regional amphibolite-facies metamorphism. In this study, we constrained the formation age of the Qinling Complex to the period between the late Mesoproterozoic and the early Neoproterozoic (ca. 1062-962 Ma), rather than the Paleoproterozoic as previously thought. The LA-ICP-MS data show two major metamorphic ages (ca. 499 and ca. 420-400 Ma) for the Qinling Complex. The former age is consistent with the peak metamorphic age of the high- and ultra-high pressure (HP-UHP) rocks in the Qinling Complex, indicating that both the HP-UHP rocks and their country rocks experienced intensive regional metamorphism during the Ordovician. The latter age may constrain the time of partial melting in the NQOB between the late Silurian and early Devonian. The Qinling Complex is mostly affiliated with subduction-accretion processes along an active continental margin, and should contain detritus deposited in a forearc basin.