Geochronology and geochemistry of Cretaceous-Eocene granites,Tengchong Block(SW China):Petrogenesis and implications for Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectonic evolution of Eastern Tethys

The Early Cretaceous-Early Eocene granitoids in the Tengchong Block record the evolutionary history of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic tectono-magmatic evolution of Eastern Tethys.(a)The Early Cretaceous granitoids with relatively low(^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr)iratios of 0.7090-0.7169 andε_(Nd)(t)values of-9.8 to-7.8 display metaluminous,calc-alkaline dominated by I-type granite affinity and hybrid mantle-crust geochemical signatures.They may have been derived from melting of the subducted Meso-Tethyan BangongNujiang oceanic crust with terrigenous sediments in an arc-continent collisional setting.(b)The Late Cretaceous-Paleocene granitoids with relatively high(^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr)iratios of 0.7109-0.7627,andε_(Nd)(t)values of-12.1 to-7.9 exhibit metaluminous to peraluminous,calc-alkaline dominated by S-type granite affinity and hybrid Lower-Upper crust geochemical signatures,which may be originated from partial melting of the Meso-Proterozoic continental crust in the collision setting between the Tengchong Block and Baoshan Block.(c)The Early Eocene granitoids have metaluminous,calc-alkaline I-type and S-type granites dual affinity,with relatively high(^(87)Sr/^(86)Sr)iratios of 0.711-0.736,ε_(Nd)(t)values of-9.4 to-4.7,showing crust-mantle mixing geochemical signatures.They may have been originated from partial melting of the late Meso-Proterozoic upper crustal components mixed with some upper mantle material during the ascent process of mantle magma caused by the subduction of the Neo-Tethyan Putao-Myitkyian oceanic crust,and collision between the Western Burma Block and the Tengchong Block.It is these multi-stage subductions and collisions that caused the spatial and temporal distribution of the granitic rocks in the Tengchong Block.

Basement of the South China Sea Area:Tracing the Tethyan Realm

The basement of the South China Sea（SCS）and adjacent areas can be divided into six divisions（regions）-Paleozoic Erathem graben-faulted basement division in Beibu Gulf,Paleozoic Erathem strike-slip pull-apart in Yinggehai waters,Paleozoic Erathem faulted-depression in eastern Hainan,Paleozoic Erathem rifted in northern Xisha（Paracel）,Paleozoic Erathem strike-slip extending in southern Xisha,and Paleozoic-Mesozoic Erathem extending in Nansha Islands（Spratly）waters.The Pre-Cenozoic basement in the SCS and Yunkai continental area are coeval within the Tethyan tectonic domain in the Pre-Cenozoic Period.They are formed on the background of the Paleo-Tethyan tectonic domain,and are important components of the Eastern Tethyan multi-island-ocean system.Three branches of the Eastern Paleo-Tethys tectonic domain,North Yunkai,North Hainan,and South Hainan sea basins,have evolved into the North Yunkai,North Hainan,and South Hainan suture zones, respectively.This shows a distinctive feature of localization for the Pre-Cenozoic basement.The Qiongnan（i.e.South Hainan）Suture Zone on the northern margin of the South China Sea can be considered the vestige of the principal ocean basin of Paleo-Tethys,and connected with the suture zone of the Longmucuo-Shuanghu belt-Bitu belt-Changning-Menglian-Bentong-Raub belt,the south extension of Bitu-Changning-Menglian-Ching Mai belt-Chanthaburi-Raub-Bentong belt on the west of South China Sea,and with the Lianhua-Taidong suture zone（a fault along the east side of Longitudinal Valley in Taiwan）-Hida LP/HT（low pressure-high temperature）metamorphic belt-Hida -marginal HP/LT metamorphic belt in southwestern Honshu of Japan,on the east of the South China Sea.The Qiongbei（North Hainan）suture zone may eastwards extended along the Wangwu-Wenjiao fault zone,and connects with the Lufeng-Dapu-Zhenghe-Shangyu（Lianhuashan）deep fault zone through the Pearl River Mouth Basin.The Meso-Tethys developed on the south of the South China Sea.The Nansha Trough may be considered the vestige of the northern shelf of the Meso-Tethys. The oceanic crust of the Meso-Tethys has southwards subducted along the subduction-collision-thrust southern margin of the Nansha Trough with a subduction-pole opposite to those of the Yarlung Zangbo-Mytkyina-Bago zone on the west of the South China Sea,and the Meso-Tethyan（e.g.Northern Chichibu Ocean of the Meso-Tethys）suture zone＂Butsozo tectonic line＂in the outer belt of the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous terrene group in southwest Japan,on the east of the South China Sea.

Eocene to Oligocene nannofossils stratigraphy and environmental conditions in Izeh Province, Zagros Basin, East Tethys

Data obtained from the calcareous nannofossils, distributed in the upper part of the Pabdeh Formation(Priabonian–Rupelian) and the lower part of the Asmari Formation(Chattian) in the Bid-Zard section, were used to investigate the Eocene to Oligocene palaeoenvironmental conditions in the southwest of Izeh, southwestern Iran(eastern Tethys). The upper part of the Pabdeh Formation was composed of shale, thin-bedded pelagic limestone and dolostone, which is disconformably overlain by the Asmari Formation. For the first time, 29 species of calcareous nannofossils belonging to 13 genera were identified in the studied section. The calcareous nannofossils in the upper part of the Pabdeh Formation indicate the Isthmolithus recurvus Zone/Sphenolithus pseudoradians Zone(combined zone), Ericsonia subdisticha Zone, Helicosphaera reticulata Zone and Sphenolithus praedistentus Zone,from the Priabonian to the Rupelian. The Sphenolithus ciperoensis Zone of the Chattian was identified in the lower part of the Asmari Formation. Calcareous nannofossil stratigraphy across the upper Eocene–Oligocene interval also reveals a disconformity at the Rupelian/Chattian transition due to a bio-event. Shallowing of the basin and environmental changes in this part of the Tethyan domain could have led to the lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic changes. In fact, during the late Eocene to late Oligocene, marine phytoplankton was sensitive to climate changes such as decreasing temperature, as well as possibly to a nutrient increase and changes in basin depth.