The Tectonic Implications of the Hongliuhe-Xichangjing Ophiolitic Mélanges Belt in the Central Region of the Beishan Orogen, NW China——Constrained by the U-Pb Ages of Detrital Zircons of the Metasandstones

The tectonic attributes of different blocks within orogenic belts are of great significance for the study of accretionary processes and the evolution of Earth. The Hongliuhe-Niujianzi-Baiyunshan-Xichangjing ophiolitic mélange belt(HXOMB) is distributed in the heart of the Beishan Orogen, the Shuangyingshan and Minshui-Hanshan blocks being distributed in the south and north of the HXOMB respectively, and a large number of Early Paleozoic geological units are exposed on the blocks. According to the zircon age populations of the metasandstones in the Baiyunshan area recovered in this paper, when compared with the zircon age populations of the Paleozoic metasandstones reported in the Niujuanzi and Hanshan areas, we found that the metasandstones of the Shuangyingshan Block have age peaks at c. 598 Ma, 742 Ma, 828 Ma, 941 Ma, 990 Ma, 1168 Ma, 1636 Ma, 2497 Ma with non-significant age populations of 1500–1300 Ma, showing a possible affinity with the Tarim Craton;the metasandstones of the Minshui-Hanshan Block have age peaks at c. 606 Ma, 758 Ma, 914 Ma, 1102 Ma, 1194 Ma, 1304 Ma, 1672 Ma with significant age populations of 1500-1300 Ma, showing a possible affinity with the Chinese Central Tianshan Block. Therefore, the HXOMB of the Beishan Orogen is of great significance in plate segmentation, which separates the Tarim Craton in the south and the Chinese Central Tianshan Block in the north. Based on the evolutionary process of the Hongliuhe-Xichangjing ocean in the Beishan Orogen, we believe that break-up and convergence can be recognized as having occurred twice between the Chinese Central Tianshan Block and the Tarim Craton since the Mesoproterozoic in the Beishan area. This was related firstly to the break-up of the Columbia Supercontinent and the convergence of the Rodinia Supercontinent, mainly during the Middle Mesoproterozoic to Early Neoproterozoic, and secondly to the opening and closing of the Hongliuhe-Xichangjing ocean, mainly during the Early Paleozoic.

Petrology,Zircon Chronology and Geochemistry of the Late Silurian Ophiolitic Mélanges and the Baiyunshan Forearc Complex in the Central Beishan Orogenic Belt,NE China

The WNW-ESE-trending Baiyunshan ophiolitic mélange is exposed in the central Beishan orogenic belt(BOB),between the Hongliuhe-Niujuanzi and Xichangjing ophiolitic mélanges in the west and east,respectively.Here we present new petrological,geochemical,and zircon U-Pb age data for the Baiyunshan ophiolitic mélange and metamorphosed lithic sandstones of“the Baiyunshan Formation”.The Baiyunshan ophiolitic mélange is characterized by a block-in-matrix structure,and the blocks of ultramafic-mafic rocks are mainly pyroxenites,dunites,gabbros,and minor hornblendites.Zircon U-Pb dating yielded an emplacement age of 424.2±3.7 Ma for the gabbros.The ultramaficmafic rocks have geochemical features of supra-subduction zone-type ophiolites,including low Ti contents(TiO2=0.01 wt.%–0.35 wt.%),negative Nb-Ta anomalies,and U-shaped rare earth element patterns with positive Eu anomalies(δEu=0.99–3.25).“The Baiyunshan Formation”is exposed to the north of the ophiolitic mélange,and comprises mainly meta-cherts in its lower part and metasandstones and marbles in its upper part.Blocks of basalt are locally dispersed in the sand-slate matrix.The ages of detrital zircons in the metamorphosed lithic sandstones range from 521 to 464 Ma,with an age peak of 500 Ma,which is similar to those of the Gongpoquan arc in the north.The central Beishan orogenic belt experienced continuous subduction of the Hongliuhe-Xichangjing oceanic lithosphere in the Late Silurian,which produced the Baiyunshan forearc complex and supra-subduction zone-type ophiolite.