Metamorphism of the East Sector of the Southern Qinling Orogenic Belt and Its Geological Significance

The east sector of the southern Qinling belt is, lithologically, composed mainly of metapelites, ***qüartzites, marbles and small amount of metabasites and gneisses, whose protoliths are the Silurian, Devonian and less commonly the Sinian and Upper Palaeozoic. They have been subjected at least to two epochs of metamorphism. The early epoch belongs to progressive metamorphism which is centered on high amphibolite-granulite fades in the Fuping area and changed outwards into low amphibolite facies (staurolite-kyanite zone), epidote amphibolite facies (garnet zone) and greenschist facies (chlorite and biotite zones), the metamorphic age of which is about 220–260 Ma. This early-epoch metamorphism belongs to different pressure types: the rocks from greenschist to low amphibolite facies belong to the typical medium-pressure type which shows geothermal gradients of about 17–20 ***C/km and was probably produced by a crustal thickening process related to continental collision, and the high amphibolite-granulite facies belongs to the low-pressure type which shows geothermal gradients of about 25–38 ***C/km and was probably affected by some magmatic heats. Based on the basic characteristics of the P-T paths of the different facies calculated from the garnet zonations, it can be deduced that the metamorphism of medium-pressure facies series took place during an imbricated thickening process, rather than during the uplifting process after thickening. The late-epoch metamorphism belongs to dynamic metamorphism of greenschist facies which is overprinted on the early-epoch metamorphic rocks and is Yanshanian or Himalayan in age, probably related to intracontinental orogeny.

Metamorphism of the Bikou Group in the Shanxi-Gausu-Sichuan Border Region

The Blkou Group on the Shaanxi-Gansu-Sichuan border is composed of Mid-Late Proterozoic metamorphosed bimodal volcanic rocks and flysch sediments. Its metamorphism may be divided into the blueschist and greenschist facies. Three metamorphlc zones, i.e. zones A, B, and C, may be distinguished on the basis of the field distribution of metamorphlc rocks and the variation of b0 values of muscovite. Blueschists are characterized by coexistence of sodic amphiboles and epidote and occur as stripes or relict patches in extensive greenschists of zone A. Studies of metamorphic minerals such as amphiboles, chlorite, epidote and muscovite and their textural relationships indicate that blueschists and greenschists were not formed under the same metamorphic physico-chemical conditions. The blueschist facies was formed at temperatures of 300-400℃ and pressures of 0.5-0.6 GPa. The greenschist facies in zones A and B has similar temperatures but its pressure is only 0.4 GPa or so. The transition from the blueschist to greenschist facies is a nearly isothermal uplift process. The rock and mineral assemblages of the Bikou Group indicate that the blueschist facies metamorphism of the group might be related to crustal thickening or A-subduction accompanying the closure of an intracontinental small ocean basin.