Early Triassic Volcanic Rocks in the Western Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone:Implications for the Opening of the Neo-Tethys Ocean

In this study,zircon U-Pb dating of volcanic rocks from the Zhongba ophiolite of the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone(YZSZ)in southern Xizang(Tibet)yielded an age of 247±3 Ma.According to whole rock geochemical and Sr-NdPb isotopic data,the Early Triassic samples could be divided into two groups:Group 1 with P-MORB affinity,showing initial^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr ratios of 0.70253–0.70602,ε_(Nd)(t)values of 4.2–5.3,(^(206)Pb/^(204)Pb)_(t)ratios of 16.353–18.222,(^(207)Pb/^(204)Pb)_(t)ratios of 15.454–15.564,and(^(208)Pb/^(204)Pb)_(t)ratios of 35.665–38.136;Group 2 with OIB affinity,showing initial^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr ratios of 0.70249–0.70513,ε_(Nd)(t)values of 4.4–4.9,(^(206)Pb/^(204)Pb)_(t)ratios of 17.140–18.328,(^(207)Pb/^(204)Pb)_(t)ratios of 15.491–15.575,and(^(208)Pb/^(204)Pb)_(t)ratios of 36.051–38.247.Group 2 rocks formed by partial melting of the mantle source enriched by a former plume,and assimilated continental crustal material during melt ascension.The formation of Group 1 rocks corresponds to the mixing of OIB melts,with the same components as Group 2 and N-MORBs.The Zhongba Early Triassic rocks belong to the continental margin type ophiolite and formed in the continental–oceanic transition zone during the initial opening of the Neo-Tethys in southern Xizang(Tibet).

Diamonds and Other Exotic Minerals Recovered from Peridotites of the Dangqiong Ophiolite, Western Yarlung-Zangbo Suture Zone, Tibet

Various combinations of diamond, moissanite, zircon, quartz, corundum, rutile, titanite, almandine garnet, kyanite, and andalusite have been recovered from the Dangqiong peridotites. More than 80 grains of diamond have been recovered, most of which are pale yellow to reddish-orange to colorless. The grains are all 100-200 μm in size and mostly anhedral, but with a range of morphologies including elongated, octahedral and subhedral varieties. Their identification was confirmed by a characteristic shift in the Raman spectra between 1325 cm^-1 and 1333 cm^-1, mostly at 1331.51 cm^-1 or 1326.96 cm^-1. Integration of the mineralogical, petrological and geochemical data for the Dongqiong peridotites suggests a multi-stage formation for this body and similar ophiolites in the Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone. Chromian spinel grains and perhaps small bodies of chromitite crystallized at various depths in the upper mantle, and encapsulated the UHP, highly reduced and crustal minerals. Some oceanic crustal slabs containing the chromian spinel and their inclusion were later trapped in suprasubduction zones（SSZ）, where they were modified by island arc tholeiitic and boninitic magmas, thus changing the chromian spinel compositions and depositing chromitite ores in melt channels.

Geochronology and petrogenesis of the mafic dykes from the Purang ophiolite:Implications for evolution of the western Yarlung-Tsangpo suture zone,southwestern Tibet

The>2000 km Indus-Yarlung Tsangpo suture zone(IYSZ)is composed of the Neo-tethys oceanic remnants,flysch units and related continental rocks,which has been regarded as the boundary between the Eurasian and Indian terranes.Among the ophiolitic complexes,the Purang ophiolite is the biggest massif in the IYSZ,and many studies have been conducted on this ophiolite.However,previous studies have mainly focused on harzburgite,clinopyroxenite and dunite.Field observations show that mafic dykes were emplaced within the Purang ophiolite.However,petrogenetic evolutions of those mafic dykes are poorly understood.In this study,we present new LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating results,whole-rock geochemistry and Sr-Nd-Hf isotope analyses for microgabbro,gabbro and dolerite dykes from the Purang ophiolite of the southwestern IYSZ,respectively.Three samples yielded zircon U-Pb ages of144.2±2.1 Ma.127.9±2.3 Ma and 126.5±0.42 Ma,suggesting two different phases of magmatic activities distinctly.Whole-rock geochemical results suggest that the gabbro samples show alkaline features marked by enrichments of light rare earth elements(LREE)and large-ion lithophile elements(LILE),as well as Nb-Ta elements,suggesting an oceanic island basalt-like(OIB-like)geochemical affinity.However,the dolerite and microgabbro samples demonstrate sub-alkaline characteristics with normal mid-oceanic ridge basalt-like(N-MORB-like)geochemical features.Three distinct mafic dykes show significant Rb element depletion.The geochemical data and Sr-Nd-Hf isotopic features suggest that the microgabbro and gabbro rocks were derived from a depleted mantle that had been metasomatized by partial melts of sediments and enriched slab-derived fluids.The dolerite was also originated from a depleted mantle marked by significantly depleted Sr-Nd-Hf compositions,which was not influenced by enriched slab-derived fluids and sediments contamination during subsequent evolution.The isotope and geochemical data and tectonic diagrams suggest a tectonic transition from a within-plate to a midoceanic ridge basalt-like(MORB-like)setting during the period from ca.144 Ma to 127 Ma.Combined with regional background and this study,we propose that these mafic dykes were formed in an oceanic back-arc basin setting.Additionally,integrated with previous studies,we suggest that the geodynamic evolution of the southwestern and central parts of the Neo-Tethys oceanic basin is comparable in Early Cretaceous.

Geological Features of the Eastern Sector of the Bangong Co-Nujiang River Suture Zone:Tethyan Evolution

According to an analysis of the geological features in the eastern sector of the Bangong Co-Nujiang River suture zone, the Tethyan evolution can be divided into three stages. (1) The Embryo-Tethyan stage (Pz1): An immature volcanic arc developed in Taniantaweng (Tanen Taunggyi) Range, indicating the existence of an Embryo-Tethyan ocean. (2) The Palaeo-Tethyan stage (C-T2: During the Carboniferous the northern side of the Taniantaweng Range was the main domain of the Palaeo-Tethyan ocean, in which developed flysch sediments intercalated with bimodal volcanic rocks and oceanic tholeiite, and Pemian-Early Triassic are granites were superimposed on the Taniantaweng magmatic are; on the southern side the Dêngqên-Nujiang zone started secondary extension during the Carboniferous, in which the Nujiang ophiolite developed, and the Palaeo-Tethyan ocean closed before the Middle Triassic. (3) The Neo-Tethyan stage (T3-E): During the Late Triassic the Dêngqên zone developed into a relatively matural ocean basin, in which the Dêngqên ophiolite was formed. By the end of the Triassic intraocean subduction occurred, and the ocean domain was reduced gradually, and collided and closed by the end of the Early Jurassic, forming the Yazong mélange; then the Tethyan ocean was completely closed.

Genesis of the Gold Deposit in the Indus-Yarlung Tsangpo Suture Zone,Southern Tibet:Evidence from Geological and Geochemical Data

The Nianzha gold deposit, located in the central section of the Indus-Yarlung Tsangpo suture （IYS） zone in southern Tibet, is a large gold deposit （Au reserves of 25 tons with average grade of 3.08 g/t） controlled by a E-W striking fault that developed during the main stage of Indo-Asian collision （-65-41 Ma）. The main orebody is 1760 m long and 5.15 m thick, and occurs in a fracture zone bordered by Cretaceous diorite in the hanging wall to the north and the Renbu tectonic melange in the footwall to the south. High-grade mineralization occurs in a fracture zone between diorite and ultramafic rock in the Renbu tectonic melange. The wall-rock alteration is characterized by silicification in the fracture zone, serpentinization and the formation of talc and magnesite in the uitramafic unit, and chloritization and the formation of epidote and calcite in diorite. Quartz veins associated with Au mineralization can be divided into three stages. Fluid inclusion data indicate that the deposit formed from H20-NaCl-organic gas fluids that homogenize at temperatures of 203℃-347℃ and have salinities of 0.35wt%-17.17wt% NaCI equivalent. The quartz veins yield δ18Ofluid values of 0.15‰-10.45‰, low δDv-SMow values （-173%o to -96%o）, and the δ13C values of-17.6‰ to -4.7‰, indicating the ore-forming fluids were a mix of metamorphic and sedimentary orogenic fluids with the addition of some meteoric and mantle-derived fluids. The pyrite within the diorite has δ34SV-CDT values of -2.9‰-1.9‰（average -1.1‰）, 206pb/204pb values of 18.47- 18.64, 207pb/204pb values of 15.64-15.74, and 208pb/204pb values of 38.71-39.27, all of which are indicative of the derivation of S and other ore-forming elements from deep in the mantle. The presence of the Nianzha, Bangbu, and Mayum gold deposits within the IYS zone indicates that this area is highly prospective for large orogenic gold deposits. We identified three types of mineralization within the IYS, namely Bangbu-type accretionary, Mayum-type microcontinent, and Nianzha-type ophiolite-associated orogenic Au deposits. The three types formed at different depths in an aeeretionary orogenic tectonic setting. The Bangbu type was formed at the deepest level and the Nianzha type at the shallowest.

High pressure garnet amphibolites in ophiolitic mélange from the Changning-Menglian suture zone, southeast Tibetan Plateau: P-T-t path and tectonic implication

The garnet amphibolites from the newly identified Wanhe ophiolitic mélange in the Changning-Menglian suture zone(CMSZ)provide a probe to elucidate the evolution of the Triassic Palaeo-Tethys.An integrated petrologic,phase equilibria modeling and geochronological study of the garnet amphibolites,southeast Tibetan Plateau,shows that the garnet amphibolites have a peak mineral assemblage of garnet,glaucophane,lawsonite,chlorite,rutile,phengite and quartz,and a clockwise P-T path with a prograde segment from blueschist-facies to eclogite-facies with a peak-metamorphic P-T conditions of 2000–2100 MPa and 495–515℃,indicating a cold geothermal gradient of about 240–260℃/GPa.Theretrograde metamorphic P-T path is characterized by nearly isothermal decompression to lower amphibolite-facies and subsequent cooling to greenschist-facies.The metamorphic zircons have fractionated HREE patterns and significant negative Eu anomalies,and therefore the obtained zircon U-Pb age of 231±1.5 Ma is interpreted to be the timing of the amphibolite facies metamorphism occurrence.The present study probably indicates that the garnet amphibolites in the Wanhe ophiolitic mélange was the retrograded highpressure eclogite-facies blueschist,instead of the previously proposed eclogites,and the garnet amphibolites recorded the subduction and exhumation process of the Palaeo-Tethys Oceanic crust in the Triassic.

Discovery of the Dagele Eclogite in East Kunlun,Western China and Its Zircon SHRIMP U-Pb Ages:New Constrains on the Central Kunlun Suture Zone

Objective Eclogites are important indicators of ancient plate boundaries or paleosuture zones. Despite their great geological significance, very few investigations have been carried out in the Kunlun region. The Central East Kunlun fault zone was believed to be an Early Paleozoic suture zone, but there has been no reliable evidence for this, though studies on ophiolite, granite, and basic granulite indicate that the Early Paleozoic orogeny occurred in the East Kunlun. This work focused on the Dagele eclogites in Central East Kunlun to provide new constraints for the Central East Kunlun suture zone.

Discovery of eclogites in Jinsha River suture zone, Gonjo County, eastern Tibet and its restriction on Paleo-Tethyan evolution

As the important component of the eastern Tethys tectonic region,the Jinsha River-Ailao Mountain suture zone is often considered to be an ophiolitic mé1ange belt.However,the P-T-t path and chronological framework of the metamorphic evolution in the collisional orogenetic process of this zone are still poorly understood owing to the lack of metamorphism research of symbolic high-pressure rocks.During a regional geological survey on a scale of 1:50000 in Gonjo County,Tibet Autonomous Region involved in this paper,(retrograde)eclogites lenses of different scales were found in Jinsha River suture zone,eastern Tibet for the first time.The(retrograde)eclogites can be divided into garnet-albite-chlorite-actinolite schists and eclogites according to retrograde degrees.The mainly mineral components of eclogites include garnet(45%-50%),clinopyroxene(about 25%),and hornblende(5%-10%)primarily,and biotite,quartz,rutile,and muscovite secondarily.According to the data of electron probe micro analysis(EPMA),clinopyroxenes feature high content of Na2O(5.6%-6%)and corresponding jadeite(Jd)molecules of 37%-44%,and they fall within the omphacite region in Quad-Jd-Ae diagram.The temperature and pressure of the metamorphism at peak are P≈2.2-2.34 GPa and T≈622-688℃respectively as measured with geobarometry Grt-Omp-Phe and geothermometer Grt-Omp.This will provide a new reference for the understanding of Paleo-Tethyan evolution.In this paper,two samples of eclogites were chosen for LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating and their 206pb/238U ages obtained are 240±3 Ma and 244±1 Ma respectively.Furthermore,the zircons feature extremely low Th/U ratio(<0.01),extremely low content ofNb,Ta,and HREE,and invisible negative Eu anomaly.Therefore,the genesis of the zircons shall be eclogites-facies metamorphism,indicating that the 240-245 Ma determined in this paper shall be the age of eclogites-facies metamorphism and may represent the westward subduction-collision epoch of Paleo-Tethys Ocean located between Zhongza Block and Qamdo Block.

Petrology and metamorphism of glaucophane eclogites in Changning-Menglian suture zone, Bangbing area, southeast Tibetan Plateau: An evidence for Paleo-Tethyan subduction

High/ultrahigh-pressure(HP/UHP)metamorphic complexes,such as eclogite and blueschist,are generally regarded as significant signature of paleo-subduction zones and paleo-suture zones.Glaucophane eclogites have been recently identified within the Lancang Group characterized by accretionary mélange in the Changning-Menglian suture zone,at Bangbing in the Shuangjiang area of southeastern Tibetan Plateau.The authors report the result of petrological,mineralogical and metamorphism investigations of these rocks,and discuss their tectonic implications.The eclogites are located within the Suyi blueschist belt and occur as tectonic lenses in coarse-grained garnet muscovite schists.The major mineral assemblage of the eclogites includes garnet,omphacite,glaucophane,phengite,clinozoisite and rutile.Eclogitic garnet contains numerous inclusions,such as omphacite,glaucophane,rutile,and quartz with radial cracks around.Glaucophane and clinozoisite in the matrix have apparent optical and compositional zonation.Four stages of metamorphic evolution can be determined:The prograde blueschist facies(M_(1)),the peak eclogite facies(M_(2)),the decompression blueschist facies(M_(3))and retrograde greenschist facies(M_(4)).Using the Grt-Omp-Phn geothermobarometer,a peak eclogite facies metamorphic P-T condition of 3000–3270 MPa and 617–658℃ was determined,which is typical of low-temperature ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism.The comparison of the geological characteristics of the Bangbing glaucophane eclogites and the Mengku lawsonite-bearing retrograde eclogites indicates that two suites of eclogites may have formed from significantly different depths or localities to create the tectonic mélange in a subduction channel during subduction of the Triassic Changning-Menglian Ocean.The discovery of the Bangbing glaucophane eclogites may represent a new oceanic HP/UHP metamorphic belt in the Changning-Menglian suture zone.

Petrological and Re-Os Isotopic Constraints on the Origin and Tectonic Setting of the Cuobuzha Peridotite, Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone, SW Tibet, China

The Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone（YZSZ）in southern Tibet includes the remnants of Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere and marks a major suture between the Indian Plate to the south and the Lhasa Terrane of Tibet to the north（Dupuis et al.,2005;Yang et al.,2011）.In the western part of the YZSZ,the Northern and the Southern sub-belts form two sub-parallel zones of mafic–ultramaficrockassemblageswithoverlapping crystallization ages（Xiong et al.,2011;Hebért et al.,2012;Liu et al.,2015）.The upper mantle section of the Cuobuzha ophiolite in the northern sub-belt of the Yarlung–Zangbo Suture Zone（YZSZ）in SW Tibet comprises mainly clinopyroxene（cpx）–rich and depleted harzburgites.Spinels in the cpx-harzburgites show lower Cr#values（12.6–15.1）than the spinels in the harzburgites（26.1–34.5）,and the cpx-harzburgites display higher heavy rare earth element concentrations than the depleted harzburgites.The harzburgites have subchondritic Os isotopic compositions（0.11624–0.11699）,whereas the cpx-harzburgites have suprachondritic 187Os/188Os ratios（0.12831–0.13125）with higher Re concentrations（0.380-0.575 ppb）.The cpx-harzburgites plot in a Re vs.Al2O3 diagram as a result of subsequent addition of Re following the last partial melting event that occurred during mid-ocean ridge melt evolution processes（Uysal et al.,2015）.Although these geochemical and isotopic signatures suggest that both peridotite types in the ophiolite represent mid-ocean ridge type upper mantle units,their melt evolution trends reflect different mantle processes.The cpx-harzburgites formed from low-degree partial melting（;%）of a primitive mantle source,and they weresubsequently modified by melt–rock interactions in a mid-ocean ridge environment.The depleted harzburgites,on the other hand,were produced by re-melting of the cpx-harzburgites,which later interacted with MORB-or island arc tholeiite（IAT）-like melts（Fig.1）possibly in a trench-distal backarc spreading center.Our new isotopic and geochemical data from the Cuobuzha peridotites confirm that the Neotethyan upper mantle had highly heterogeneous Os isotopic compositions as a result of multiple melt production and melt extraction events during its seafloor spreading evolution.

The Beila Ophiolite from the Bangong-Nujiang Suture Zone, Northern Tibetan Plateau

The Beila ophiolite is located in the middle part of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone,northern Tibetan plateau.It is a complete ophiolite suite,and plays a key role in understanding the evolution of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone,as well as the Meso-Tethys Ocean.The Beila ophiolite was composed of peridotite,serpentinite,gabbro,pillow basalt,and minor rodingite.Peridotites comprisemainlymedium–tocoarse–grained serpentinized harzburgites and minor plagioclase-bearing lherzolites and dunites.There are some felsic-ultramafic dykes within the peridotite and they are mainlypegmatoidal pyroxenites,coarse to fine-grained gabbros,and diabases.Gabbros included isotropic and cumulate gabbros,and they commonly contain minor pegmatoidal gabbros veins.Pillow basalts and basaltic andesites overlaid on the margin of the serpentinized peridotites.Rodingite occurs as lenses and/or dykes within the host serpentinized peridotites.Zircon SHRIMP U–Pb dating for two rodingite samples yielded the ages ranging from172 to 164 Ma.Whole-rock geochemical and zircon Hf isotopic data show that the Beila ophiolite shows SSZ-type ophiolite affinity.Finally,we suggest that the Beila ophiolite was generated in an initial subduction process at the middle Jurassic(164–172 Ma).

Remnants of a Middle Triassic Oceanic Lithosphere in the Western Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone, Southern Tibet

Discontinuous ophiolite suites along the Yarlung Zangbo suture zone(YZSZ)in southern Tibet representing remnants of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere are considered to be formed between Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.Older ophiolite or ophiolitic mélange(e.g.Triassic)to reveal the initial evolution the Neo-Tethyan ocean within the YZSZ have rarely been documented so far.The western YZSZ extending from the Saga to Ladakh area are composed of the northern ophiolitic subbelt,the Zhongba terrane and the southern ophiolitic sub-belt.In this study,we document structural,petrological and geochronological data of mafic intrusions from the Mayoumu massif in the southern ophiolitic sub-belt of the western YZSZ.Two lithos-tectonic sub-units,the southern ophiolitic complex and the northern ophiolitic mélange,are recognized in the Mayoumu massif in terms of structural pattern and petrology.LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating of gabbro from the ophiolitic mélange yields an age of 243±1 Ma with zirconεHf(t)values of+7.9 to+13.2.Two samples of diabase samples from the ophiolite yield ages of 131±1 Ma and 124±1 Ma with zirconεHf(t)values ranging from+10.8 to+15.0 and+12.3 to+15.4,respectively.Geochemically,rare earth elements(REEs)patterns show that these mafic intrusions are similar to those of the normal mid-ocean-ridge basalt(N-MORB).Enrichment of fluidmobile elements(e.g.Rb and Ba)and depletion of Nb,and Ta suggest that these intrusions were possibly originated from melting of a depleted mantle source influenced by subducted slab.Our data strongly confirms that the Neo-Tethyan ocean between the Lhasa terrane and Gondwana had been existed since the Middle Triassic at least.The ages of the two diabases from the ophiolitic complex reveal that mafic magma activities within the Neo-Tethyan ocean could be as a continuing process during 120–130 Ma.Emplacement and preservation of older ophiolitic recorder during evolution of the Neo-Tethyan Ocean may be closely related to the occurrence of the Zhongba micro-terrane within the western YZSZ.

Comparisons of the suture zones along a geotraverse from the Scythian Platform to the Arabian Platform

The area from the Greater Caucasus to the southeast Turkey is characteri：;.ed and shaped by several major continental blocks. These are Scythian Platform, Pontian-Transcaucasu.,; Continent-Arc System （PTCAS）, the Anatolian-lranian and the Arabian Platforms. The aim of this paper is to define these continental blocks and describe and also compare their boundary relationships along the suture zones. The Scythian Platform displays the evidence of the Hercynian and Alpine orogens. This platform is separated from the PTCAS by the Greater Caucasus Suture Zone. The incipient collision began along this suture zone before middle-late Carboniferous whereas the final collision occurred before Oligocene. The PTCAS can be divided into four structural units： （1） the Georgian Block - northern part of the Pontian-Transcaucasian island-arc, （2） the southern and eastern Black Sea Coast-Adjara-Trialeti Unit, （3） the Artvin-Bolnisi Unit, comprising the northern part of the southern Transcaucasus, and （4） the Imbricated Bayburt-Garabagh Unit. The PTCAS could be separated from the Anatolian Iranian Platform by the North Anatolian-Lesser Caucasus Suture （NALCS） zone. The initial collision was developed in this suture zone during Senonian-early Eocene and final collision before middle Eocene or Oligocene-Miocene. The Anatolian-lranian Platform （AIP） is made up of the Tauride Platform and its metamorphic equivalents together with Iranian Platform. It could be separated from the Arabian Platform by the Southeastern Anatolian Suture （SEAS） zone. The collision ended before late Miocene along this suture zone. The southernmost continental block of the geotraverse is the Arabian Platform, which constitutes the northern part of the Arabian-African Plate. This platform includes a sequence from the Precambrian felsic volcanic and clastic rocks to the Campanian-early Maastrichtian fiyschoidal clastics. All the suture zones include MORB and SSZ-types ophiolites in different ages. However, the ages of the suture zones and the crustal thicknesses along the suture zones are different, as the age becoming younger, the thickness decreasing from north to south. The emplacements of the ophiolites have similar pattern of a flower structure, reflecting both the north- and south-dipping overthrusts along the suture zones.

The Rhyacian El Cortijo suture zone: Aeromagnetic signature and insights for the geodynamic evolution of the southwestern Rio de la Plata craton, Argentina

The amalgamation of the southern Rio de la Plata craton involves two possibly coeval Rhyacian sutures associated with the Transamazonian orogeny, rather than a single one as previously envisaged, i.e. the El Cortijo suture zone and the Salado suture. We circumscribe the Tandilia terrane to the region between these two sutures. The E1 Cortijo suture zone runs along a roughly WNW oriented magnetic low aligned along the southern boundary of the Tandilia terrane, i.e. boundary between the Tandilia and Balcarce terranes. This extensive magnetic low, ca. 300 km long, and ca. 90 km wide, would be caused by demagnetization associated with shearing. At a more local scale, the trend of the El Cortijo suture zone often turns toward the E-W. At this scale, WNW trending tholeiitic dykes of Statherian age are seen to cut the Rhyacian E1 Cortijo suture zone. Spatially associated with the El Corti]o suture zone, there are small magnetic highs interpreted to be related to unexposed basic bodies of ophiolitic nature related to those forming part of the El Cortijo Formation. We envisage the pre-Neoproterozoic evolution of the Tandilia belt to have been initiated by the extension of Neoarchean （ - 2650 Ma） crust occurred during Siderian times （2500-2300 Ma）, causing the separation between the Balcarce, Tandilia and Buenos Aires terranes, and the development of narrow oceans at both north and south sides of the Tandilia terrane, accompanied by -2300-2200 Ma sedi- mentation over transitional -continental to oceanic- crust, and arc magmatism developed in the Tan- dilia terrane. The island arc represented by the El Cortijo Formation was also developed at this time. At late Rhyacian times, it occurred in both the closure of the narrow oceans developed previously, the entrapment of the El Cortijo island arc, as well as anatectic magmatism in the Balcarce terrane.

Peridotites and Chromitites from the Dingqing Ophiolite in the Eastern Segment of Bangong–Nujiang Suture Zone, Tibet: Occurrence Characteristics and Classifications

The Dingqing ophiolite is located in the eastern segment of the Bangong-Nujiang suture zone. This suture zone is W–E trending parallel with the Yarlung–Zangbo suture zone and is an strategic area for exploring chromite deposits in China. The Dingqign ophiolite is distributed in near SE-NW direction. According to the spatial distribution, the Dingqing ophiolite is sudivided into two massifs, including the East and the West massifs. The Dingqing ophiolite covers an area of nearly 600 km2. This ophiolite is composed of peridotite, pyroxenite, gabbro, diabase, basalt, plagiogranite and chert(Fig. 1). The peridotite is the main lithology of the Dingqing ophiolite. The peridotite covers about 90% of the total area of the Dingqing ophiolite. The Dingqing ophiolite is dominated by harzburgite with a small amounts of dunite. The Dingqing harzburgite displays different textures, such as massive, Taxitic, oriented and spherulitic textures(Fig. 2d–i). These four types of harzburgite occur in both the East and West massifs, especially in the Laraka area of the eastern part of the East massif. Dunites have different occurrences in the field outcrops, such as lenticular or stripshaped, thin-shell and agglomerate varieties(Fig. 2a–c). On the basis of detailed field work, we have discovered 83 chromitite bodies, including 27 in the East massif and 56 in the West massif. According to the occurrence scale and quantity of the chromitite bodies, we have identified four prospecting areas, namely Laraka, Latanguo, Langda and Nazona. Chromitites in the Dingqing ophiolite show different textures, including massive, disseminated, veined and disseminated-banded textures(Fig. 3). On the basis of the Cr#(=Cr/(Cr+Al)×100) of chromite, we have classified the Dingqing chromitite into high-Cr, medium high chromium type, medium chromium type and low chromium type chromitite(Figs. 4, 5). Among them, low chromium type chromitite Cr# is extremely low, ranging from 9.23 to 14.01, with an average of 11.89;TiO2 content is 0.00% to 0.04%, and the average value is 0.01%, which may be a new output type of chromitite. These different types of chromitites have different associations/assemblages of mineral inclusions. The inclusions in high chromium type chromitite are mainly clinopyroxene and a small amount of olivine;medium high chromium chromitite are mainly amphibole, a small amount of clinopyroxene and phlogopite;while low-chromium chromite rarely develops mineral inclusions, and micron-sized clinopyroxene inclusions are common in olivines which are gangue mineral in it. These different types of chromite ore bodies have a certain correspondence with the field output, and may also restrict their genesis. This part will be further developed in the follow-up work.

Multistage tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Canavese Intracontinental Suture Zone:New constraints on the tectonics of the Inner Western Alps

The Canavese Intracontinental Suture Zone(CISZ) within the Inner Western Alps represents the remnant of a long-lived minor subduction zone involving a narrow, thinned continental crust/oceanic lithosphere seaway between two continental domains of the Adria microplate(i.e., the Sesia Zone and the IvreaVerbano Zone). As opposed to many suture zones, the CISZ mostly escaped pervasive tectonic deformation and metamorphism, thus preserving the original stratigraphy and allowing the relationships between tectonics and sedimentation to be defined. Through detailed geological mapping(1:5000 scale),structural analysis, stratigraphic and petrographic observations, we document evidences for the late Paleozoic to late Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the CISZ, showing that it played a significant role in the context of the tectonic evolution of the Inner Western Alps region from the early to late Permian Pangea segmentation, to the Jurassic Tethyan rifting, and up to the subduction and collisional stages,forming the Western Alps. The site of localization/formation of the CISZ was not accidental but associated with the re-use of structures inherited from regional-scale wrench tectonics related to the segmentation of Pangea, and from the subsequent extensional tectonics related to the Mesozoic rifting, as documented by crosscutting relationships between stratigraphic unconformities and tectonic features. Our findings document that evidences derived from stratigraphy, facies indicators, and relationships between tectonics and sedimentation in the shallow crustal portions of suture zones, such in the CISZ, are important to better constrain the tectonic history of those metamorphic orogenic belts around the world in which evolutionary details are commonly complicated by high-strain deformation and metamorphic transformations.

Tectonic Evolution of Neotethys Ocean: Evidence of Ophiolites and Ocean Plate Stratigraphy from the Northern and Southern belts in the Western Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone, Tibet

The Yarlung Zangbo suture zone(YZSZ)separates Indian plate and its northern passive margin units to the south from Eurasian plate and its active continental margin units of Xigaze forearc basin and Gangdese batholith to the north(Xu et al.,2015;Yang et al.,2015).The western YZSZ in southern Tibet is divided by the Zhongba terrane into the northern belt(NB)and southern belt(SB).Ophiolites in the NB are dismembered as ophiolitic mélanges.Peridotite,cumulated gabbro,ocean plate stratigraphy(OPS)of seamount remnants and pelagichemipelagic sequence as blocks in serpentinite matrix are mainly observed,from west to east,in Dajiweng,Baer,Kazhan,Cuobuzha,Zhalai,Gongzhu.Ophiolites in the SB are absent ophiolitic units of sheeted dikes and MORB-like pillow lavas,occur as much larger peridotite massifs(i.e.,Dongbo,400 km^2;Purang,650 km^2;Xiugugabu,700 km^2;Dangqiong,300 km^2)which are intruded by mafic dike swarms and overlain by volcanic sedimentary OPS(Liu et al.,2018).We propose that the SB mafic–ultramafic rocks and volcanic sedimentary OPS represent fragments of an early Cretaceous continental margin ophiolite whose magmatic evolution was influenced by 140–137 Ma plume magmatism(Liu et al.,2015;Zheng et al.,2019).Relics of Late Paleocene to very Early Eocene deep-marine basin were developed in Saga and Gyirong(Ding,2003;Li et al.,2018).In contract,the NB ophiolitic mélanges report a travel log of an oceanic plate ranging from Middle Triassic to Early Cretaceous.

Location of the Suture Zone between the South and North China Blocks in Eastern Dabie Orogen

The Dabie Mountains are a collisional orogen between the South and North China blocks. The rock assemblages, isotopic dating and tectonic relationship of the tectonic-petrologic units in the eastern Dabie orogen indicate that the orogen is mainly composed of the different-grades metamorphic basement with minor low-grade metamorphic cover. No ophiolitic mélange and the Paleozoic volcanic-intrusive rock associated with the southern margin of the North China block were found there, suggesting that they belong to the northern margin of the South China block. The boundary between the tectonic-petrologic units is generally an extensional shear zone developed in the exhumation process of the ultrahigh pressure metamorphic rocks. In the northern part of the Dabie Mountains, the extensional-thrust and nappe structure represent the products of extensional tectonism. That is, there is no key tectonic boundary to indicate the occurrence of the suture zone there. Therefore, neither the Shuihou-Wuhe shear zone, nor the Mozitan-Xiaotian fault, is the suture zone between the South and North China blocks. The zone is believed to be at the front area of the Xinyang-Shucheng fault, covered by the Mesozoic-Cenozoic deposits within the Hefei basin.

Geophysical signatures of Precambrian shields and suture zones: Preface for thematic section

The Precambrian shields and associated suture zones of the globe preserve important records of continental growth and destruction, the formation and closure of ocean basins, and the early evolution of the Earth in terms of tectonics, resources, and environment. They also offer critical clues on the nature and style of plate tectonics, mantle dynamics and crust-mantle interaction. In this thematic section of Geoscience Frontiers, a set of four contri- butions are assembled that provide a window to the mechanisms and processes in Precambrian shields and associated suture zones from a geological and geophysical perspective.

Tectonic Evolution of the Dongbo Ophiolite in Western Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone, Xizang(Tibet)

The Dongbo ophiolite in the western part of the Yarlung-Zangbo suture zone in southern Tibet rests tectonically on the middle-late Triassic and Cretaceous flysch units,and consist mainly of peridotites,mafic dikes,