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Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage Wenjiao Xiao a, b, ⁎, Brian F. Windley c , Mark B. Allen d , Chunming Han a, b a Xinjiang Research Center for Mineral Resources, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China b State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China c Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK d Department of Earth Sciences, University of Durham, Durham DH1 3LE, UK abstract article info Article history: Received 6 April 2011 Received in revised form 26 January 2012 Accepted 29 January 2012 Available online 20 February 2012 Keywords: Tianshan Late Carboniferous–Permian Accretion Mediterranean-type scenario Altaids Subduction-related accretion in the Junggar–Balkash and South Tianshan Oceans (Paleo-Asian Ocean), main- ly in the Paleozoic, gave rise to the present 2400 km-long Tianshan orogenic collage that extends from the Aral Sea eastwards through Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, to Xinjiang in China. This paper provides an up-to-date along-strike synthesis of this orogenic collage and a new tectonic model to explain its accretion- ary evolution. The northern part of the orogenic collage developed by consumption of the Junggar–Balkash Ocean together with Paleozoic island arcs (Northern Ili, Issyk Kul, and Chatkal) located in the west, which may have amal- gamated into a composite arc in the Paleozoic in the west and by addition of another two, roughly parallel, arcs (Dananhu and Central Tianshan) in the east. The western composite arc and the eastern Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs formed a late Paleozoic archipelago with multiple subduction zones. The southern part of the orogenic collage developed by the consumption of the South Tianshan Ocean which gave rise to a continuous accretionary complex (Kokshaal–Kumishi), which separated the Central Tianshan in the east and other Paleozoic arcs in the west from cratons (Tarim and Karakum) to the south. Cross-border correla- tions of this accretionary complex indicate a general southward and oceanward accretion by northward sub- duction in the early Paleozoic to Permian as recorded by successive southward juxtaposition of ophiolites, slices of ophiolitic mélanges, cherts, island arcs, olistostromes, blueschists, and turbidites, which are mainly Paleozoic in age, with the youngest main phase being Late Carboniferous–Permian. The initial docking of the southerly Tarim and Karakum cratons to this complicated late Paleozoic archipelago and accretionary complexes occurred in the Late Carboniferous–Early Permian in the eastern part of the Tianshan and in the Late Permian in the western part, which might have terminated collisional deformation on this suture zone. The final stages of closure of the Junggar–Balkash Ocean resembled the small ocean basin scenario of the Mediterranean Sea in the Cenozoic. In summary, the history of the Altaids is characterized by complicated multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics. © 2012 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The architecture of the Central Asian accretionary orogenic col- lages and the geodynamic implications for Phanerozoic continental growth have long been a major concern of the international commu- nity (Zonenshain et al., 1990; Xiao and Tang, 1991; Xiao et al., 1992; Mossakovsky et al., 1993; Şengör et al., 1993; Cawood et al., 2009). The Tianshan (Tien Shan, or Tian Shan) orogenic collage records the long-lived, north-to-south (present coordinates) accretion of the Altaids (Şengör et al., 1993), or Central Asian Orogenic Belt (Windley et al., 2007), forming one of the largest accretionary oro- gens in the planet (Cawood et al., 2009). Many international programs including IGCP and ILP (Seltmann et al., 2001; Jahn et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2010) and individual research groups have studied the geology and tectonic history of the Altaids. Earlier political divisions between the western and eastern parts delayed along-strike correlations and led to many tectonic units being described and interpreted differently in China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia. Subsequent disagree- ment about geological interpretations across and along the Tianshan led to a lack of current consensus. For example, emphasizing Precambri- an microcontinents, closure of multiple oceans and formation of arcs, Zonenshain et al. (1990), Filippova et al. (2001), and Mossakovsky et al. (1993) proposed a general archipelago model for the Paleozoic pa- leogeography. This was followed and modified by several research Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316–1341 ⁎ Corresponding author at: Xinjiang Research Center for Mineral Resources, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China. Tel.: +86 991 7885371; fax: +86 991 7885320. E-mail address: [email protected] (W. Xiao). 1342-937X/$ – see front matter © 2012 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2012.01.012 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Gondwana Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gr

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Page 1: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect

Gondwana Research

j ourna l homepage wwwe lsev ie r com locate gr

Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshanorogenic collage

Wenjiao Xiao ab Brian F Windley c Mark B Allen d Chunming Han ab

a Xinjiang Research Center for Mineral Resources Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography Chinese Academy of Sciences Urumqi 830011 Chinab State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100029 Chinac Department of Geology University of Leicester Leicester LE1 7RH UKd Department of Earth Sciences University of Durham Durham DH1 3LE UK

Corresponding author at Xinjiang Research Center fInstitute of Ecology and Geography Chinese AcademyChina Tel +86 991 7885371 fax +86 991 7885320

E-mail address wj-xiaomailigcasaccn (W Xiao)

1342-937X$ ndash see front matter copy 2012 International Adoi101016jgr201201012

a b s t r a c t

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article historyReceived 6 April 2011Received in revised form 26 January 2012Accepted 29 January 2012Available online 20 February 2012

KeywordsTianshanLate CarboniferousndashPermianAccretionMediterranean-type scenarioAltaids

Subduction-related accretion in the JunggarndashBalkash and South Tianshan Oceans (Paleo-Asian Ocean) main-ly in the Paleozoic gave rise to the present 2400 km-long Tianshan orogenic collage that extends from theAral Sea eastwards through Uzbekistan Tajikistan Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China This paper provides anup-to-date along-strike synthesis of this orogenic collage and a new tectonic model to explain its accretion-ary evolutionThe northern part of the orogenic collage developed by consumption of the JunggarndashBalkash Ocean togetherwith Paleozoic island arcs (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal) located in the west which may have amal-gamated into a composite arc in the Paleozoic in the west and by addition of another two roughly parallelarcs (Dananhu and Central Tianshan) in the east The western composite arc and the eastern Dananhu andCentral Tianshan arcs formed a late Paleozoic archipelago with multiple subduction zones The southernpart of the orogenic collage developed by the consumption of the South Tianshan Ocean which gave rise toa continuous accretionary complex (KokshaalndashKumishi) which separated the Central Tianshan in the eastand other Paleozoic arcs in the west from cratons (Tarim and Karakum) to the south Cross-border correla-tions of this accretionary complex indicate a general southward and oceanward accretion by northward sub-duction in the early Paleozoic to Permian as recorded by successive southward juxtaposition of ophiolitesslices of ophiolitic meacutelanges cherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which are mainlyPaleozoic in age with the youngest main phase being Late CarboniferousndashPermian The initial docking ofthe southerly Tarim and Karakum cratons to this complicated late Paleozoic archipelago and accretionarycomplexes occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian in the eastern part of the Tianshan and in theLate Permian in the western part which might have terminated collisional deformation on this suturezone The final stages of closure of the JunggarndashBalkash Ocean resembled the small ocean basin scenario ofthe Mediterranean Sea in the Cenozoic In summary the history of the Altaids is characterized by complicatedmultiple accretionary and collisional tectonics

copy 2012 International Association for Gondwana Research Published by Elsevier BV All rights reserved

1 Introduction

The architecture of the Central Asian accretionary orogenic col-lages and the geodynamic implications for Phanerozoic continentalgrowth have long been a major concern of the international commu-nity (Zonenshain et al 1990 Xiao and Tang 1991 Xiao et al 1992Mossakovsky et al 1993 Şengoumlr et al 1993 Cawood et al 2009)The Tianshan (Tien Shan or Tian Shan) orogenic collage records thelong-lived north-to-south (present coordinates) accretion of theAltaids (Şengoumlr et al 1993) or Central Asian Orogenic Belt

or Mineral Resources Xinjiangof Sciences Urumqi 830011

ssociation for Gondwana Research

(Windley et al 2007) forming one of the largest accretionary oro-gens in the planet (Cawood et al 2009)

Many international programs including IGCP and ILP (Seltmann etal 2001 Jahn et al 2004 Wang et al 2010) and individual researchgroups have studied the geology and tectonic history of the AltaidsEarlier political divisions between the western and eastern partsdelayed along-strike correlations and led to many tectonic unitsbeing described and interpreted differently in China KazakhstanKyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan and Russia Subsequent disagree-ment about geological interpretations across and along the Tianshanled to a lack of current consensus For example emphasizing Precambri-an microcontinents closure of multiple oceans and formation of arcsZonenshain et al (1990) Filippova et al (2001) and Mossakovsky etal (1993) proposed a general archipelago model for the Paleozoic pa-leogeography This was followed and modified by several research

Published by Elsevier BV All rights reserved

1317W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

groups (Shu et al 2002 Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007a 2011)Meanwhile Hsuuml and Haihong (1999) put forward an idiosyncraticbackarc-collapse model for all the Paleozoic accretionary orogens ofChina Recognizing the similarity of innumerable island arcs Şengoumlr etal (1993) and Şengoumlr and Natalin (1996) suggested a strike-slip imbri-cated single-arc forearc accretion model Yakubchuk (2004) placedless emphasis on strike-slip duplication andmore on collisions and rec-ognized a greater number of arcs and back-arc basins In contrast fur-ther field investigations constrained by detailed geochronology ofmany parts of the Altaids found that the complex relationships couldonly be accounted for by the formation of multiple subduction zonesof different polarity and of different age that were responsible for theformation of multiple episodes of subductionndashaccretion and eventualcollision (eg Charvet et al 2007 2011 Kroumlner et al 2007 Windleyet al 2007 Wang et al 2010 Xiao et al 2004b 2009a 2010bcHeubeck 2001) Many fundamental problems remain to be addressedin particular regarding the age and subduction polarities during accre-tion and final orogenic events

The aim of this contribution is to present an along-strike synthesisand re-assessment of the orogen and a new model to explain itsaccretionary evolution from early subductionndashaccretion via anAndean-stage of development to final amalgamation that led to theTurkestan suture and termination of the orogenic collages To help in-terpretation of the surface geology we have used several detailedgeologicalndashgeophysical profiles (Burtman 1975 1980 Li and Cui1994 Mikolaichuk et al 1997 Lesik and Mikolaichuk 2001Bazhenov and Mikolaichuk 2004 Li et al 2004b Xiao et al 2004bd 2010c Biske and Seltmann 2010 Makarov et al 2010)

2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies

21 Regional tectonic background

The present geographical Tianshan is a mountain range that ex-tends for more than 2400 km from the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan vianorthern Tajikistan Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to northern Xinjiangin China (Figs 1 and 2) The geographical situation west of the bul-wark of Tibet and north of the Pamirs syntaxis (Fig 2) enabled max-imum impact of the post-collisional tectonics of the IndiandashAsiacollision which caused exhumation since at least the Oligocene ofthe modern Tianshan mountain belt (Windley et al 1990 Hendrixet al 1992) This deformation and uplift continues to the present-day (Allen et al 1994 Bullen et al 2001 Coutand et al 2002Poupinet et al 2002 Bullen et al 2003) Accepting that what wesee today is only the result of Cenozoic uplift of a distinctive part ofthe Altaids we use the term lsquoTianshan orogenic collagersquo for the pre-sent uplifted mountain range of the Tianshan which internally hasextensive geological along-strike continuity

However a problem has arisen over many years in particular be-cause the Central Tianshan is wide in the west but narrows eastwardsto disappear in western China As a result researchers in differentparts of the Tianshan have identified and produced different subdivi-sions which then have created problems of along-strike correlation oftectonic belts This was done at a time with fewer time constraints byisotopic data than now and as a result there is little eastndashwest con-sensus on the basic architecture of the Tianshan collage and onacross-strike correlations and therefore on the numbers of suturesand their polarities Particularly controversial is the timing of collisionof the Tarim and Karakum Cratons to the Tianshan collage LatestSilurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle to late Devonian (Tang1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous (Graham et al 19901993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989) or PermianndashTriassic(Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Furthermore although there is little controversy about the south-ward subduction that closed the North Tianshan ocean there are dif-ferences of opinion on the polarity of the subduction zone that closed

the South Tianshan Ocean northward (Burtman 1975 1980 Gao etal 1995 Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004d Zhang et al 2007Gao et al 2009b Alexeiev et al 2011) or southward (Shu et al2002 Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al 2007a 2011) These dif-ferences reflect variations in interpretation of the geological andstructural environments and the local often limited availability offossil and isotopic age data Therefore it is timely to re-evaluate thenature age constraints and tectonic settings of the various tectonicunits of the Tianshan orogenic collage

22 Different terminologies

Before the major tectonic units are described we clarify the differ-ent terminologies used along the length of the Tianshan (Figs 2and 3A and B)

The Paleozoic framework of the Tianshan orogenic collage is char-acterized by several tectonic belts that are separated by ophioliticmeacutelanges (Windley et al 1990 Sun et al 2008 Ren et al 2011Dong et al 2011) Traditionally a three-fold subdivision has been ap-plied to the Tianshan orogenic collage North Central and SouthTianshan in China and North Middle and South Tienshan in Kyrgyz-stan (Fig 3) The South Tianshan Units contains ophiolitic meacutelangeswhich separate the Tarim and Karakum Cratons (Fig 1) to the southfrom the Central or Middle Tianshan and other similar units to thenorth The North Tianshan Unit in China contains ophiolitic meacutelangeswhich separate a mosaic of various units from the Dananhu Unit tothe north (Figs 2 and 3)

The Chinese Northern Tianshan has no exact equivalent but belongsto Northern Tianshan in across the border to the west and the ChineseCentral Tianshan is roughly part of the Northern Tianshan in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 2006b 2010) TheMiddle Tianshan in Kyrgyzstan has no rec-ognized equivalent in China and appears towedge out near the KyrgyzndashChinese border but the South Tianshan is continuous fromwest to eastalong the whole length of the orogenic collage (Burtman 2006a 2008)As the termsNorthern andMiddle (Median) Tianshanmay cause confu-sion due to the above-mentioned lack of continuity we retain ldquoNorthTianshanrdquo for the Chinese Tianshan and ldquoSouth Tianshanrdquo for the onlycontinuous tectonic unit which has also been termed the ldquoKokshaalndashKumishirdquo meacutelange zone or accretionary complex (Xiao et al 2004c)The term ldquoKazakhstanndashNorth Tienshanrdquo (Zonenshain et al 1990) refersgenerally to terranes in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan which will be re-ferred to by their local names in this paper (Fig 5)

In the following we describe successively from northeast to south-west the major tectonic units in the North Tianshan Central Tianshanand South Tianshan (see Fig 5) starting north of the North Tianshanfault (Fig 2) The Chinese Central Tianshan between the NorthTianshan fault and the Kokshaal-Kumishi fault narrows markedly tothe east therefore we use ldquoNorthern Ilirdquo for its western counterpart(Figs 4 and 5) Likewise the South Tianshan south of the KokshaslndashKumish fault narrows eastwards towards the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex Thenwe discuss the polarity of subduction that closedthe South Tianshan Ocean and finally we propose a new tectonicmodeland discuss its significance for the development of the Altaids

3 Northern tectonic units

31 Dananhu Arc in China

The Dananhu (or DananhundashHarlik) arc (Fig 5) comprises fromnorth to south an Ordovician to Carboniferousndashearly Permian arc amiddle forearc meacutelange (Kanggurtag) and a southern Carboniferousforearcndasharc (Yamansu) (Xiao et al 2004c) The Dananhu arc is mainlycomposed of Ordovician to DevonianndashCarboniferous volcanic and py-roclastic rocks and accretionary complexes composed of turbiditesbasalts cherts and ultramafic rocks (Qin 2000 Qin et al 2002 Liet al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) OrdovicianndashSilurian calc-alkaline

PamirsKarakum Kashi

Tashkent

BishkekAlmaty

Urumqi

44N

94E90E86E82E78E74E70E66E

94E90E86E82E78E74E70E66E

40N

44N

0 300 kmBalkhash

LakeIssyk Kul

Ophiolite greenschist blueschist melange (mostly Camb to E Permian)

Precambrian (mostly gneiss and schist)

E Paleozoic volcanic arc

L Carb to Permian sediment

E to M Carb volcanic arc

Mostly E to M Paleozoic sediment

Kokshaal-Kumishi Fault dashed where inferred

Sil to E Dev arc

Carb to E Permian arc

M Dev to E Carb sediment

M Dev to E Carb arc

M Dev to E Permian arc

Sil to Carb sediment

High-pressure metamorphic rocks

40N

Ophiolite (mostly Dev to Carb)

Major fault dashed where inferredStrike-slip fault dashed where inferredMesozoic and Cenozoic

Tarim Basin

MuyunkumDesert

KyzylkumDesert

Junggar Basin

Turpan Basin

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks

Fig 3

Fig 11

Fig 6

Fig 5

Tarim Craton

North Tianshan faultNorthern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

Northern Ili-Central Tianshan Arc (E) Dannanhu ArcNorthern Ili-CentralTianshan Arc (W)

Kepingtag Thru

st B

elt

Kepingtag Thru

st B

elt

South Tianshan (K

okshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

South Tianshan (K

okshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

Proterozoic

Vendian-E Paleozoic

E to M Dev arc

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Weiya

Fig 2 Geological and tectonic map of the Tianshan orogenic collage showing major Paleozoic magmatic arcs and the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionary complex(compiled after XBGMR 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 Burtman and Samygin 2001 Cole 2001 Kiselev and Maksumova 2001 Maksumova et al 2001 Daukeev et al 2002 Burtman2006a 2008) Data on the high-ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks are modified after Dobretsov et al (1987) Tagiri and Bakirov (1990) Xiao and Tang (1991) Dobretsov andKirkdyashkin (1994) Xiao et al (1994ab) Gao et al (1995 1998) Tagiri et al (1995) Cui et al (1997) Gao and Klemd (2001 2003) Zhang et al (2002a 2005a 2007) Dobretsovet al (2003 2006) Liu and Qian (2003) Dobretsov and Buslov (2004) Positions of Figs 3 5 6 and 11are indicated

CratonsCentral Asian orogenic collages

Siberiancraton

East Europeancraton

Baykalides

A L T A I D S

Tianshan - S

o

lonker Suture

Tianshan - S

o

lonker Suture

Karakum C Tarim C North China C

Figure 2 A L T A I D S

Fig 1 Schematic map showing the position of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage and other collages in Asia (modified after Şengoumlr et al 1993 Şengoumlr and Natalin 1996)Fig 2 is marked

1318 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Northern Iliarc

C2

C3

S2

S1

C1

P1

P2

T1

T2

D3

D2

D1

O3

O2

O1

Camb3

Camb2

Camb1

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

Tarim-Karakumcontinent margin

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Silu

rian

Ord

ovic

ian

Dev

onia

nC

arbo

nife

rous

Per

mia

nT

riass

icP

reca

mbr

ian

Cam

bria

n

FaunaFloraUnconformityThrustSubduction

Clasticpelitic rockChertLimestoneConglomerateGneiss schist

Granitic rockAcidic and intermediate volcanic rockAcidic and intermediate volcaniclastic rockBasaltOphioliteophiolitic melange withinthe Kokshaal-Kumishi accretionary complex

N SNorth Tianshanaccretionary complex

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Kokshaal-KumishfaultNorth Tianshan

fault(W)

HPUHP

HTLP

Fig 4 Stratigraphic columns of the tectonic units of the Tianshan orogenic collages (modified after XBGMR 1993 Xiao et al 2004c Burtman 2006ab 2008) HPUHP meanshigh-pressureUltrahigh-pressure metamorphism and HTLP means high-temperaturelow pressure metamorphism

0 50km

PermianCretaceous-NeogeneCarboniferous

Volcanic rocks

Sandstone

Sandstone tuff volcanic rocks conglomerate

Strike-slip directionSilurian

Jurassic OrdovicianJ

PK-N

C

South Tianshanaccretionary complexundifferentiated

Devonian

Ophiolitic melange

Felsic Pluton

Thrust

Quaternary TriassicT Tarim sequences undifferentiated

Tianshan sequences undifferentiated

TJ

C

DushanziKuche

Tarim CratonSouth Tianshan Accretionary Complex

Kepingtag ThrustBelt

Northern Ili-Central Tianshan Arc

North TianshanAccretionary

ComplexJunggar Arc-Accretionary

Complex

P

Q

215degNorthern Thrust Zone

Atbashy-Inychek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim FaultNorth Tianshan Fault

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

K-N

K-NK-N

J

T

C

C1 D1-CQQC1

C1C1

C1 C2

C2

E2

S1-2S1-2 S3

S3O3

DD

P

P

P

SS

Section in Fig 10

Fig 3 Schematic geological and geophysical cross-section showing major tectonic units of the Tianshan collage (modified after Xiao et al 2004d) See text for explanation Line ofsection is marked in Fig 2 and position of Fig 10 is indicated

1319W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Precambrian strata

Early Paleozoic strata

Late Paleozoic strata

Mesozoic strata

Cenozoic Granitoids

Gabbrodiabase

HPUHP metamorphicrocks

Strike-slip fault

Fault

Thrust

Ophiolitic melange

Ultramafic-maficintrusions

88deg 90deg86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg76deg74deg72deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

72deg 74deg 76deg 86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

North Tianshan Fault

Nikolaev Line-North Nalati Fault

Atbashy-Inylchek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim Fault

Talas-Ferghana Strike-slip Fault

4

5

1

4

3

2

Fig 5 Simplified geological map of the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao and Klemd 2003 Gao et al 2009ab Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c)

1320WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1321W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

volcanic rocks of possible active margin origin occur along the south-ern margin of the TurpanndashHami Devonian rocks are composed ofmafic and pyroclastic rocks clastic sediments and calc-alkaline felsicvolcanic lavas and tuffs and the Carboniferous mainly of lavas pyro-clastic rocks greywacke and carbonates DevonianndashCarboniferoustholeiitic basalts and calc-alkaline andesites have been interpretedto belong to an island arc (Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The middle Dananhu Unit the Kanggurtag accretionary complexcontains basalt lavas and pyroclastic rocks that were thrust south-ward over the Yamansu forearc (Xiao et al 2004c) These volcanicrocks are subdivided into two major assemblages coherent strata inthe south and meacutelanges and broken formations in the north (Yanget al 1996 Li et al 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The coherent strata in-clude several early to mid-Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary rocksthe geochemistry of tholeiitic rocks suggests an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The southern Yamansu forearc-arc is characterized by lavas volcani-clastic rocks and terrigenous clastic sediments interbedded with lime-stones (Xiao et al 2004c) Basalts andesites cherts and turbidites ofDevonian age are imbricated with weakly metamorphosed fine-grained clastic sediments and carbonates and overlain by Carbonifer-ous andesite basalt dacite rhyolite spilite and keratophyre (Bai1994) Pillow basalts with MORB geochemistry radiolarian cherts andturbidites of Carboniferous age were regarded by Bai (1994) as rem-nants of a meacutelange Some late Carboniferous andesites and rhyolitesare interbedded with clastic sediments and limestones The andesiteshave a calc-alkaline geochemical pattern and the basalts an oceanic tho-leiite geochemical signature thereby indicating an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Ji et al 1999 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The Permianis characterized by sandstones siltstones cherts basalts andesites andrhyolites (Chen et al 2003 Zuo et al 2006)

Gabbros diorites quartze-diorites and adamellites of late Paleozoicage intruded the DananhuUnit thatwas intruded by granites and granit-ic porphyries some of which have early Carboniferous isotopic ages(Chen et al 2003 2005 Zuo et al 2006) Porphyry copper depositsmay be late Devonian to Carboniferous in age (Chen et al 2005) Someporphyry deposits have late Carboniferous to early Permian isotopicages For example a granitic porphyry in the Tuwumine has a UndashPb zir-con age of 301plusmn13 Ma (Li et al 2002) and a granitic porphyry at Chihua UndashPb zircon age of 294plusmn4Ma (Li et al 2002 Chen et al 2005) thesegranitic rocksmay have formed during a Late Carboniferousndashearly Perm-ian accretionary event

Some Alaskan-type zoned maficndashultramafic complexes along themain axis of the Dananhu arc have yielded SHRIMP zircon ages of2692plusmn32 Ma and 2770plusmn32 Ma (Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cZhou et al 2004) Zircon SIMS UndashPb dating of the Poshi HongshishanBijiashan and Huangshan NindashCu-bearing and Xiangshan NindashCundashTindashFe-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in the Eastern Tianshan andBeishan Rift yields a relatively restricted range of 2786 Ma to2840 Ma (Ao et al 2010 Qin et al 2011) Single zircon UndashPbSHRIMP and evaporation ages and RendashOs KndashAr and SmndashNd ages ofporphyry-type copper deposits and adakitic rocks (Qin 2000 Rui etal 2001 2002 Qin et al 2002 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cHan et al 2010b) indicate that this island arc may have lasted tothe Carboniferous and early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

In this Dananhu Unit shear zones have Permian to Triassic maindeformation ages such as the Qiugemingtashi ductile high-strainzone of 2629ndash2428 Ma based on ArndashAr dating (Chen et al 2007)The Tianger high-strain zone along the northern part of the Unit hasan ArndashAr age of 266 Ma (Yang et al 2007b 2009)

According to Xiao et al (2004c) the Dananhu arc in the ChineseEastern Tianshan formed the southern part of the intra-oceanicHarlikndashDananhu island arc system A combination of isotopic data andregional geology indicates that the Dananhu subduction system gaverise from the Ordovician to the early Carboniferous to an intra-oceanic arc that evolved into a Cordilleran-type active continental

margin (part of or outboard of the Siberian active margin) in the lateCarboniferous to early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China

The North Tianshan meacutelange occurs along the North Tianshanfault and the AqqikkudukndashWeiya ophiolite-bearing fault (Shu et al1999 2002 Xiao et al 2004c) It separates the Dananhu arc to thenorth from the Central Tianshan arc and Northern Ili arc to thesouth (Xiao et al 2004c) The fault marks a suture zone that containshigh-pressure glaucophane-phengite schists (Xiao and Tang 1991Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu and Qian 2003) and Ordovi-cianndashSilurian turbidites and ophiolitic fragments which include ser-pentinite meacutelanges and ultramafic rocks (Windley et al 1990 Maet al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2002 Charvet et al 2007)

The ophiolitic meacutelanges which are exposed discontinuously in azone from Mishigou to Gangou and then to Weiya of foliated serpen-tinites cumulate peridotites gabbros diabase dykes tholeiites andcherts The matrices of the meacutelanges include greenschist-facies gray-wackes and turbidites including tuffs siltstones and sandy phyllites(Ma et al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Charvet et al2007)

The presence of high-pressure phengite schists and glaucophaneschists at Gangous Mishigou and Weiya (Ma et al 1997 Shu et al1999) indicates that subduction took place along this suture zone al-though the age of subduction is poorly constrained (Xiao and Tang1991 Allen et al 1993a Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu andQian 2003)

In the northern part of the meacutelange a Permian olistostrome sedi-mentary sequence contains olistoliths of Carboniferous limestone andsome mafic dykes (Shu et al 2011b) Some Permian pillow basalts(Fig 7A) are juxtaposed against Permian siliceous turbidites volcanicbreccias deep-water cherts and Carboniferous limestone olistolithswhich are strongly deformed into huge recumbent folds

Along the North Tianshan Carboniferous olistostromes containblocks of limestones cherts and volcanics in a matrix of mudstones(Shu et al 2000 Xiao et al 2004c Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al2009b) Broken formations comprise blocks of red siliceous mud-stones greenish cherts and siliceous tuffs in a matrix of black mud-stones Such rocks form a colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKoelahighway (Fig 7B) Block-in-matrix meacutelanges with olistoliths of sili-ceous mudstones cherts and limestones in a matrix of mudstonescan be seen along the UrumqindashAiweirgou highway (Fig 7C and D)The olistostromes broken formations meacutelanges and coherent unitsare widely considered to be part of the forearc accretionary prism ofthe North Tianshan (Shu et al 2000 2011b Xiao et al 2004cCharvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009b)

Farther west in the western part of the Chinese Tianshan theBayingou ophiolite on this North Tianshan fault (Fig 6) containsmicrofossils including late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolariaand conodonts (Wang et al 1990 Xiao and Tang 1991 Xiao et al1992 1994b) Ophiolitic olivine clinopyroxenites gabbro cumulates andsheeted dykes are thrust against tholeiitic basalts with late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolaria and conodonts in cherty rock intercalations(Wang et al 1990 Li and Cui 1994) A plagiogranite of the Bayingouophiolite (Fig 6) has a SHRIMP zircon age of 3248plusmn71 Ma (Xia et al2004 Xu et al 2006) which predates the time of ophiolite emplacementinto the North Tianshan meacutelange

Based on the data given above we interpret the rock assemblagesalong this suture zone as remnants of an accretionary wedge thatformed in a late Paleozoic to early Permian subduction zone Theyshare similar features to those classical colored meacutelanges from theAmerican Cordillera Alaska Oman and Makran (White 1982 Searleet al 1994 McCall 1996 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997Bradley et al 2003 Hosseini-Barzi and Talbot 2003 Furlong andSchwartz 2004) The western part of the accretionary wedge could

Urumqi

Korla Kuche

42 N

44 N

42 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

44 N

HP-UHP rocksNorthern Ili arc Ophiolitic ultramafic rocks and melange

Island arc (Pz-P1)Tectonic boundaryBlueschist Cross-section

Accretionary complex

0 Km 100

Fig 9 Fig 10

SSoouutthh TTiiaannsshhaann ((KKookksshhaaaall--KKuummiisshhii)) aaccccrreettiioonnaarryy ccoommpplleexx

~

~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

BayingouAxi

Northern Ili arc

Changawuzi

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

to Dushanzi

Kumishi

MishigouTielimaiti

Yushugou

AiweiergouGangou

Fig 6 Tectonic map of the Chinese Western Tianshan showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao et al 1998 2009b Gao and Klemd2003 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) Figs 9 and 10 are marked

1322 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

have been related to southward subduction beneath the Northern Iliarc The situation in the eastern part could have been different andall the meacutelanges along the North Tianshan fault and to the north of

Fig 7 Field photos of the Northern Tianshan A Permian pillow basalts Baiyanggou lookingnortheast communication tower for scale C and D Meacutelanges in the Eastern Tianshan look

it represent the accretionary complex over which the Danahu arcwas constructed a simple tectonic scenario as described by Allen etal (1993b)

east scientist for scale B Colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKorla highway lookinging south hammer for scale

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

Badarch G Orolmaa D 1998 Overview of the geology and tectonic evolution ofsouthern Mongolia Mongolian Geoscientist 10 10ndash16

Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

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Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

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Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

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Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

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Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

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Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 2: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1317W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

groups (Shu et al 2002 Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007a 2011)Meanwhile Hsuuml and Haihong (1999) put forward an idiosyncraticbackarc-collapse model for all the Paleozoic accretionary orogens ofChina Recognizing the similarity of innumerable island arcs Şengoumlr etal (1993) and Şengoumlr and Natalin (1996) suggested a strike-slip imbri-cated single-arc forearc accretion model Yakubchuk (2004) placedless emphasis on strike-slip duplication andmore on collisions and rec-ognized a greater number of arcs and back-arc basins In contrast fur-ther field investigations constrained by detailed geochronology ofmany parts of the Altaids found that the complex relationships couldonly be accounted for by the formation of multiple subduction zonesof different polarity and of different age that were responsible for theformation of multiple episodes of subductionndashaccretion and eventualcollision (eg Charvet et al 2007 2011 Kroumlner et al 2007 Windleyet al 2007 Wang et al 2010 Xiao et al 2004b 2009a 2010bcHeubeck 2001) Many fundamental problems remain to be addressedin particular regarding the age and subduction polarities during accre-tion and final orogenic events

The aim of this contribution is to present an along-strike synthesisand re-assessment of the orogen and a new model to explain itsaccretionary evolution from early subductionndashaccretion via anAndean-stage of development to final amalgamation that led to theTurkestan suture and termination of the orogenic collages To help in-terpretation of the surface geology we have used several detailedgeologicalndashgeophysical profiles (Burtman 1975 1980 Li and Cui1994 Mikolaichuk et al 1997 Lesik and Mikolaichuk 2001Bazhenov and Mikolaichuk 2004 Li et al 2004b Xiao et al 2004bd 2010c Biske and Seltmann 2010 Makarov et al 2010)

2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies

21 Regional tectonic background

The present geographical Tianshan is a mountain range that ex-tends for more than 2400 km from the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan vianorthern Tajikistan Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan to northern Xinjiangin China (Figs 1 and 2) The geographical situation west of the bul-wark of Tibet and north of the Pamirs syntaxis (Fig 2) enabled max-imum impact of the post-collisional tectonics of the IndiandashAsiacollision which caused exhumation since at least the Oligocene ofthe modern Tianshan mountain belt (Windley et al 1990 Hendrixet al 1992) This deformation and uplift continues to the present-day (Allen et al 1994 Bullen et al 2001 Coutand et al 2002Poupinet et al 2002 Bullen et al 2003) Accepting that what wesee today is only the result of Cenozoic uplift of a distinctive part ofthe Altaids we use the term lsquoTianshan orogenic collagersquo for the pre-sent uplifted mountain range of the Tianshan which internally hasextensive geological along-strike continuity

However a problem has arisen over many years in particular be-cause the Central Tianshan is wide in the west but narrows eastwardsto disappear in western China As a result researchers in differentparts of the Tianshan have identified and produced different subdivi-sions which then have created problems of along-strike correlation oftectonic belts This was done at a time with fewer time constraints byisotopic data than now and as a result there is little eastndashwest con-sensus on the basic architecture of the Tianshan collage and onacross-strike correlations and therefore on the numbers of suturesand their polarities Particularly controversial is the timing of collisionof the Tarim and Karakum Cratons to the Tianshan collage LatestSilurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle to late Devonian (Tang1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous (Graham et al 19901993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989) or PermianndashTriassic(Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Furthermore although there is little controversy about the south-ward subduction that closed the North Tianshan ocean there are dif-ferences of opinion on the polarity of the subduction zone that closed

the South Tianshan Ocean northward (Burtman 1975 1980 Gao etal 1995 Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004d Zhang et al 2007Gao et al 2009b Alexeiev et al 2011) or southward (Shu et al2002 Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al 2007a 2011) These dif-ferences reflect variations in interpretation of the geological andstructural environments and the local often limited availability offossil and isotopic age data Therefore it is timely to re-evaluate thenature age constraints and tectonic settings of the various tectonicunits of the Tianshan orogenic collage

22 Different terminologies

Before the major tectonic units are described we clarify the differ-ent terminologies used along the length of the Tianshan (Figs 2and 3A and B)

The Paleozoic framework of the Tianshan orogenic collage is char-acterized by several tectonic belts that are separated by ophioliticmeacutelanges (Windley et al 1990 Sun et al 2008 Ren et al 2011Dong et al 2011) Traditionally a three-fold subdivision has been ap-plied to the Tianshan orogenic collage North Central and SouthTianshan in China and North Middle and South Tienshan in Kyrgyz-stan (Fig 3) The South Tianshan Units contains ophiolitic meacutelangeswhich separate the Tarim and Karakum Cratons (Fig 1) to the southfrom the Central or Middle Tianshan and other similar units to thenorth The North Tianshan Unit in China contains ophiolitic meacutelangeswhich separate a mosaic of various units from the Dananhu Unit tothe north (Figs 2 and 3)

The Chinese Northern Tianshan has no exact equivalent but belongsto Northern Tianshan in across the border to the west and the ChineseCentral Tianshan is roughly part of the Northern Tianshan in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 2006b 2010) TheMiddle Tianshan in Kyrgyzstan has no rec-ognized equivalent in China and appears towedge out near the KyrgyzndashChinese border but the South Tianshan is continuous fromwest to eastalong the whole length of the orogenic collage (Burtman 2006a 2008)As the termsNorthern andMiddle (Median) Tianshanmay cause confu-sion due to the above-mentioned lack of continuity we retain ldquoNorthTianshanrdquo for the Chinese Tianshan and ldquoSouth Tianshanrdquo for the onlycontinuous tectonic unit which has also been termed the ldquoKokshaalndashKumishirdquo meacutelange zone or accretionary complex (Xiao et al 2004c)The term ldquoKazakhstanndashNorth Tienshanrdquo (Zonenshain et al 1990) refersgenerally to terranes in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan which will be re-ferred to by their local names in this paper (Fig 5)

In the following we describe successively from northeast to south-west the major tectonic units in the North Tianshan Central Tianshanand South Tianshan (see Fig 5) starting north of the North Tianshanfault (Fig 2) The Chinese Central Tianshan between the NorthTianshan fault and the Kokshaal-Kumishi fault narrows markedly tothe east therefore we use ldquoNorthern Ilirdquo for its western counterpart(Figs 4 and 5) Likewise the South Tianshan south of the KokshaslndashKumish fault narrows eastwards towards the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex Thenwe discuss the polarity of subduction that closedthe South Tianshan Ocean and finally we propose a new tectonicmodeland discuss its significance for the development of the Altaids

3 Northern tectonic units

31 Dananhu Arc in China

The Dananhu (or DananhundashHarlik) arc (Fig 5) comprises fromnorth to south an Ordovician to Carboniferousndashearly Permian arc amiddle forearc meacutelange (Kanggurtag) and a southern Carboniferousforearcndasharc (Yamansu) (Xiao et al 2004c) The Dananhu arc is mainlycomposed of Ordovician to DevonianndashCarboniferous volcanic and py-roclastic rocks and accretionary complexes composed of turbiditesbasalts cherts and ultramafic rocks (Qin 2000 Qin et al 2002 Liet al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) OrdovicianndashSilurian calc-alkaline

PamirsKarakum Kashi

Tashkent

BishkekAlmaty

Urumqi

44N

94E90E86E82E78E74E70E66E

94E90E86E82E78E74E70E66E

40N

44N

0 300 kmBalkhash

LakeIssyk Kul

Ophiolite greenschist blueschist melange (mostly Camb to E Permian)

Precambrian (mostly gneiss and schist)

E Paleozoic volcanic arc

L Carb to Permian sediment

E to M Carb volcanic arc

Mostly E to M Paleozoic sediment

Kokshaal-Kumishi Fault dashed where inferred

Sil to E Dev arc

Carb to E Permian arc

M Dev to E Carb sediment

M Dev to E Carb arc

M Dev to E Permian arc

Sil to Carb sediment

High-pressure metamorphic rocks

40N

Ophiolite (mostly Dev to Carb)

Major fault dashed where inferredStrike-slip fault dashed where inferredMesozoic and Cenozoic

Tarim Basin

MuyunkumDesert

KyzylkumDesert

Junggar Basin

Turpan Basin

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks

Fig 3

Fig 11

Fig 6

Fig 5

Tarim Craton

North Tianshan faultNorthern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

Northern Ili-Central Tianshan Arc (E) Dannanhu ArcNorthern Ili-CentralTianshan Arc (W)

Kepingtag Thru

st B

elt

Kepingtag Thru

st B

elt

South Tianshan (K

okshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

South Tianshan (K

okshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

Proterozoic

Vendian-E Paleozoic

E to M Dev arc

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Weiya

Fig 2 Geological and tectonic map of the Tianshan orogenic collage showing major Paleozoic magmatic arcs and the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionary complex(compiled after XBGMR 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 Burtman and Samygin 2001 Cole 2001 Kiselev and Maksumova 2001 Maksumova et al 2001 Daukeev et al 2002 Burtman2006a 2008) Data on the high-ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks are modified after Dobretsov et al (1987) Tagiri and Bakirov (1990) Xiao and Tang (1991) Dobretsov andKirkdyashkin (1994) Xiao et al (1994ab) Gao et al (1995 1998) Tagiri et al (1995) Cui et al (1997) Gao and Klemd (2001 2003) Zhang et al (2002a 2005a 2007) Dobretsovet al (2003 2006) Liu and Qian (2003) Dobretsov and Buslov (2004) Positions of Figs 3 5 6 and 11are indicated

CratonsCentral Asian orogenic collages

Siberiancraton

East Europeancraton

Baykalides

A L T A I D S

Tianshan - S

o

lonker Suture

Tianshan - S

o

lonker Suture

Karakum C Tarim C North China C

Figure 2 A L T A I D S

Fig 1 Schematic map showing the position of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage and other collages in Asia (modified after Şengoumlr et al 1993 Şengoumlr and Natalin 1996)Fig 2 is marked

1318 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Northern Iliarc

C2

C3

S2

S1

C1

P1

P2

T1

T2

D3

D2

D1

O3

O2

O1

Camb3

Camb2

Camb1

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

Tarim-Karakumcontinent margin

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Silu

rian

Ord

ovic

ian

Dev

onia

nC

arbo

nife

rous

Per

mia

nT

riass

icP

reca

mbr

ian

Cam

bria

n

FaunaFloraUnconformityThrustSubduction

Clasticpelitic rockChertLimestoneConglomerateGneiss schist

Granitic rockAcidic and intermediate volcanic rockAcidic and intermediate volcaniclastic rockBasaltOphioliteophiolitic melange withinthe Kokshaal-Kumishi accretionary complex

N SNorth Tianshanaccretionary complex

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Kokshaal-KumishfaultNorth Tianshan

fault(W)

HPUHP

HTLP

Fig 4 Stratigraphic columns of the tectonic units of the Tianshan orogenic collages (modified after XBGMR 1993 Xiao et al 2004c Burtman 2006ab 2008) HPUHP meanshigh-pressureUltrahigh-pressure metamorphism and HTLP means high-temperaturelow pressure metamorphism

0 50km

PermianCretaceous-NeogeneCarboniferous

Volcanic rocks

Sandstone

Sandstone tuff volcanic rocks conglomerate

Strike-slip directionSilurian

Jurassic OrdovicianJ

PK-N

C

South Tianshanaccretionary complexundifferentiated

Devonian

Ophiolitic melange

Felsic Pluton

Thrust

Quaternary TriassicT Tarim sequences undifferentiated

Tianshan sequences undifferentiated

TJ

C

DushanziKuche

Tarim CratonSouth Tianshan Accretionary Complex

Kepingtag ThrustBelt

Northern Ili-Central Tianshan Arc

North TianshanAccretionary

ComplexJunggar Arc-Accretionary

Complex

P

Q

215degNorthern Thrust Zone

Atbashy-Inychek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim FaultNorth Tianshan Fault

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

K-N

K-NK-N

J

T

C

C1 D1-CQQC1

C1C1

C1 C2

C2

E2

S1-2S1-2 S3

S3O3

DD

P

P

P

SS

Section in Fig 10

Fig 3 Schematic geological and geophysical cross-section showing major tectonic units of the Tianshan collage (modified after Xiao et al 2004d) See text for explanation Line ofsection is marked in Fig 2 and position of Fig 10 is indicated

1319W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Precambrian strata

Early Paleozoic strata

Late Paleozoic strata

Mesozoic strata

Cenozoic Granitoids

Gabbrodiabase

HPUHP metamorphicrocks

Strike-slip fault

Fault

Thrust

Ophiolitic melange

Ultramafic-maficintrusions

88deg 90deg86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg76deg74deg72deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

72deg 74deg 76deg 86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

North Tianshan Fault

Nikolaev Line-North Nalati Fault

Atbashy-Inylchek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim Fault

Talas-Ferghana Strike-slip Fault

4

5

1

4

3

2

Fig 5 Simplified geological map of the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao and Klemd 2003 Gao et al 2009ab Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c)

1320WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1321W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

volcanic rocks of possible active margin origin occur along the south-ern margin of the TurpanndashHami Devonian rocks are composed ofmafic and pyroclastic rocks clastic sediments and calc-alkaline felsicvolcanic lavas and tuffs and the Carboniferous mainly of lavas pyro-clastic rocks greywacke and carbonates DevonianndashCarboniferoustholeiitic basalts and calc-alkaline andesites have been interpretedto belong to an island arc (Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The middle Dananhu Unit the Kanggurtag accretionary complexcontains basalt lavas and pyroclastic rocks that were thrust south-ward over the Yamansu forearc (Xiao et al 2004c) These volcanicrocks are subdivided into two major assemblages coherent strata inthe south and meacutelanges and broken formations in the north (Yanget al 1996 Li et al 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The coherent strata in-clude several early to mid-Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary rocksthe geochemistry of tholeiitic rocks suggests an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The southern Yamansu forearc-arc is characterized by lavas volcani-clastic rocks and terrigenous clastic sediments interbedded with lime-stones (Xiao et al 2004c) Basalts andesites cherts and turbidites ofDevonian age are imbricated with weakly metamorphosed fine-grained clastic sediments and carbonates and overlain by Carbonifer-ous andesite basalt dacite rhyolite spilite and keratophyre (Bai1994) Pillow basalts with MORB geochemistry radiolarian cherts andturbidites of Carboniferous age were regarded by Bai (1994) as rem-nants of a meacutelange Some late Carboniferous andesites and rhyolitesare interbedded with clastic sediments and limestones The andesiteshave a calc-alkaline geochemical pattern and the basalts an oceanic tho-leiite geochemical signature thereby indicating an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Ji et al 1999 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The Permianis characterized by sandstones siltstones cherts basalts andesites andrhyolites (Chen et al 2003 Zuo et al 2006)

Gabbros diorites quartze-diorites and adamellites of late Paleozoicage intruded the DananhuUnit thatwas intruded by granites and granit-ic porphyries some of which have early Carboniferous isotopic ages(Chen et al 2003 2005 Zuo et al 2006) Porphyry copper depositsmay be late Devonian to Carboniferous in age (Chen et al 2005) Someporphyry deposits have late Carboniferous to early Permian isotopicages For example a granitic porphyry in the Tuwumine has a UndashPb zir-con age of 301plusmn13 Ma (Li et al 2002) and a granitic porphyry at Chihua UndashPb zircon age of 294plusmn4Ma (Li et al 2002 Chen et al 2005) thesegranitic rocksmay have formed during a Late Carboniferousndashearly Perm-ian accretionary event

Some Alaskan-type zoned maficndashultramafic complexes along themain axis of the Dananhu arc have yielded SHRIMP zircon ages of2692plusmn32 Ma and 2770plusmn32 Ma (Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cZhou et al 2004) Zircon SIMS UndashPb dating of the Poshi HongshishanBijiashan and Huangshan NindashCu-bearing and Xiangshan NindashCundashTindashFe-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in the Eastern Tianshan andBeishan Rift yields a relatively restricted range of 2786 Ma to2840 Ma (Ao et al 2010 Qin et al 2011) Single zircon UndashPbSHRIMP and evaporation ages and RendashOs KndashAr and SmndashNd ages ofporphyry-type copper deposits and adakitic rocks (Qin 2000 Rui etal 2001 2002 Qin et al 2002 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cHan et al 2010b) indicate that this island arc may have lasted tothe Carboniferous and early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

In this Dananhu Unit shear zones have Permian to Triassic maindeformation ages such as the Qiugemingtashi ductile high-strainzone of 2629ndash2428 Ma based on ArndashAr dating (Chen et al 2007)The Tianger high-strain zone along the northern part of the Unit hasan ArndashAr age of 266 Ma (Yang et al 2007b 2009)

According to Xiao et al (2004c) the Dananhu arc in the ChineseEastern Tianshan formed the southern part of the intra-oceanicHarlikndashDananhu island arc system A combination of isotopic data andregional geology indicates that the Dananhu subduction system gaverise from the Ordovician to the early Carboniferous to an intra-oceanic arc that evolved into a Cordilleran-type active continental

margin (part of or outboard of the Siberian active margin) in the lateCarboniferous to early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China

The North Tianshan meacutelange occurs along the North Tianshanfault and the AqqikkudukndashWeiya ophiolite-bearing fault (Shu et al1999 2002 Xiao et al 2004c) It separates the Dananhu arc to thenorth from the Central Tianshan arc and Northern Ili arc to thesouth (Xiao et al 2004c) The fault marks a suture zone that containshigh-pressure glaucophane-phengite schists (Xiao and Tang 1991Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu and Qian 2003) and Ordovi-cianndashSilurian turbidites and ophiolitic fragments which include ser-pentinite meacutelanges and ultramafic rocks (Windley et al 1990 Maet al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2002 Charvet et al 2007)

The ophiolitic meacutelanges which are exposed discontinuously in azone from Mishigou to Gangou and then to Weiya of foliated serpen-tinites cumulate peridotites gabbros diabase dykes tholeiites andcherts The matrices of the meacutelanges include greenschist-facies gray-wackes and turbidites including tuffs siltstones and sandy phyllites(Ma et al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Charvet et al2007)

The presence of high-pressure phengite schists and glaucophaneschists at Gangous Mishigou and Weiya (Ma et al 1997 Shu et al1999) indicates that subduction took place along this suture zone al-though the age of subduction is poorly constrained (Xiao and Tang1991 Allen et al 1993a Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu andQian 2003)

In the northern part of the meacutelange a Permian olistostrome sedi-mentary sequence contains olistoliths of Carboniferous limestone andsome mafic dykes (Shu et al 2011b) Some Permian pillow basalts(Fig 7A) are juxtaposed against Permian siliceous turbidites volcanicbreccias deep-water cherts and Carboniferous limestone olistolithswhich are strongly deformed into huge recumbent folds

Along the North Tianshan Carboniferous olistostromes containblocks of limestones cherts and volcanics in a matrix of mudstones(Shu et al 2000 Xiao et al 2004c Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al2009b) Broken formations comprise blocks of red siliceous mud-stones greenish cherts and siliceous tuffs in a matrix of black mud-stones Such rocks form a colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKoelahighway (Fig 7B) Block-in-matrix meacutelanges with olistoliths of sili-ceous mudstones cherts and limestones in a matrix of mudstonescan be seen along the UrumqindashAiweirgou highway (Fig 7C and D)The olistostromes broken formations meacutelanges and coherent unitsare widely considered to be part of the forearc accretionary prism ofthe North Tianshan (Shu et al 2000 2011b Xiao et al 2004cCharvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009b)

Farther west in the western part of the Chinese Tianshan theBayingou ophiolite on this North Tianshan fault (Fig 6) containsmicrofossils including late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolariaand conodonts (Wang et al 1990 Xiao and Tang 1991 Xiao et al1992 1994b) Ophiolitic olivine clinopyroxenites gabbro cumulates andsheeted dykes are thrust against tholeiitic basalts with late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolaria and conodonts in cherty rock intercalations(Wang et al 1990 Li and Cui 1994) A plagiogranite of the Bayingouophiolite (Fig 6) has a SHRIMP zircon age of 3248plusmn71 Ma (Xia et al2004 Xu et al 2006) which predates the time of ophiolite emplacementinto the North Tianshan meacutelange

Based on the data given above we interpret the rock assemblagesalong this suture zone as remnants of an accretionary wedge thatformed in a late Paleozoic to early Permian subduction zone Theyshare similar features to those classical colored meacutelanges from theAmerican Cordillera Alaska Oman and Makran (White 1982 Searleet al 1994 McCall 1996 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997Bradley et al 2003 Hosseini-Barzi and Talbot 2003 Furlong andSchwartz 2004) The western part of the accretionary wedge could

Urumqi

Korla Kuche

42 N

44 N

42 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

44 N

HP-UHP rocksNorthern Ili arc Ophiolitic ultramafic rocks and melange

Island arc (Pz-P1)Tectonic boundaryBlueschist Cross-section

Accretionary complex

0 Km 100

Fig 9 Fig 10

SSoouutthh TTiiaannsshhaann ((KKookksshhaaaall--KKuummiisshhii)) aaccccrreettiioonnaarryy ccoommpplleexx

~

~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

BayingouAxi

Northern Ili arc

Changawuzi

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

to Dushanzi

Kumishi

MishigouTielimaiti

Yushugou

AiweiergouGangou

Fig 6 Tectonic map of the Chinese Western Tianshan showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao et al 1998 2009b Gao and Klemd2003 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) Figs 9 and 10 are marked

1322 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

have been related to southward subduction beneath the Northern Iliarc The situation in the eastern part could have been different andall the meacutelanges along the North Tianshan fault and to the north of

Fig 7 Field photos of the Northern Tianshan A Permian pillow basalts Baiyanggou lookingnortheast communication tower for scale C and D Meacutelanges in the Eastern Tianshan look

it represent the accretionary complex over which the Danahu arcwas constructed a simple tectonic scenario as described by Allen etal (1993b)

east scientist for scale B Colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKorla highway lookinging south hammer for scale

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

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Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

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Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

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Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

Windley BF Allen MB Zhang C Zhao ZY Wang GR 1990 Paleozoic accretionand Cenozoic redeformation of the Chinese Tien Shan Range Central Asia Geology18 128ndash131

Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 3: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

PamirsKarakum Kashi

Tashkent

BishkekAlmaty

Urumqi

44N

94E90E86E82E78E74E70E66E

94E90E86E82E78E74E70E66E

40N

44N

0 300 kmBalkhash

LakeIssyk Kul

Ophiolite greenschist blueschist melange (mostly Camb to E Permian)

Precambrian (mostly gneiss and schist)

E Paleozoic volcanic arc

L Carb to Permian sediment

E to M Carb volcanic arc

Mostly E to M Paleozoic sediment

Kokshaal-Kumishi Fault dashed where inferred

Sil to E Dev arc

Carb to E Permian arc

M Dev to E Carb sediment

M Dev to E Carb arc

M Dev to E Permian arc

Sil to Carb sediment

High-pressure metamorphic rocks

40N

Ophiolite (mostly Dev to Carb)

Major fault dashed where inferredStrike-slip fault dashed where inferredMesozoic and Cenozoic

Tarim Basin

MuyunkumDesert

KyzylkumDesert

Junggar Basin

Turpan Basin

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks

Fig 3

Fig 11

Fig 6

Fig 5

Tarim Craton

North Tianshan faultNorthern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

Northern Ili-Central Tianshan Arc (E) Dannanhu ArcNorthern Ili-CentralTianshan Arc (W)

Kepingtag Thru

st B

elt

Kepingtag Thru

st B

elt

South Tianshan (K

okshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

South Tianshan (K

okshaal-Kumishi) Accretionary Complex

Proterozoic

Vendian-E Paleozoic

E to M Dev arc

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Weiya

Fig 2 Geological and tectonic map of the Tianshan orogenic collage showing major Paleozoic magmatic arcs and the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionary complex(compiled after XBGMR 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 Burtman and Samygin 2001 Cole 2001 Kiselev and Maksumova 2001 Maksumova et al 2001 Daukeev et al 2002 Burtman2006a 2008) Data on the high-ultrahigh-pressure metamorphic rocks are modified after Dobretsov et al (1987) Tagiri and Bakirov (1990) Xiao and Tang (1991) Dobretsov andKirkdyashkin (1994) Xiao et al (1994ab) Gao et al (1995 1998) Tagiri et al (1995) Cui et al (1997) Gao and Klemd (2001 2003) Zhang et al (2002a 2005a 2007) Dobretsovet al (2003 2006) Liu and Qian (2003) Dobretsov and Buslov (2004) Positions of Figs 3 5 6 and 11are indicated

CratonsCentral Asian orogenic collages

Siberiancraton

East Europeancraton

Baykalides

A L T A I D S

Tianshan - S

o

lonker Suture

Tianshan - S

o

lonker Suture

Karakum C Tarim C North China C

Figure 2 A L T A I D S

Fig 1 Schematic map showing the position of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage and other collages in Asia (modified after Şengoumlr et al 1993 Şengoumlr and Natalin 1996)Fig 2 is marked

1318 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Northern Iliarc

C2

C3

S2

S1

C1

P1

P2

T1

T2

D3

D2

D1

O3

O2

O1

Camb3

Camb2

Camb1

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

Tarim-Karakumcontinent margin

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Silu

rian

Ord

ovic

ian

Dev

onia

nC

arbo

nife

rous

Per

mia

nT

riass

icP

reca

mbr

ian

Cam

bria

n

FaunaFloraUnconformityThrustSubduction

Clasticpelitic rockChertLimestoneConglomerateGneiss schist

Granitic rockAcidic and intermediate volcanic rockAcidic and intermediate volcaniclastic rockBasaltOphioliteophiolitic melange withinthe Kokshaal-Kumishi accretionary complex

N SNorth Tianshanaccretionary complex

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Kokshaal-KumishfaultNorth Tianshan

fault(W)

HPUHP

HTLP

Fig 4 Stratigraphic columns of the tectonic units of the Tianshan orogenic collages (modified after XBGMR 1993 Xiao et al 2004c Burtman 2006ab 2008) HPUHP meanshigh-pressureUltrahigh-pressure metamorphism and HTLP means high-temperaturelow pressure metamorphism

0 50km

PermianCretaceous-NeogeneCarboniferous

Volcanic rocks

Sandstone

Sandstone tuff volcanic rocks conglomerate

Strike-slip directionSilurian

Jurassic OrdovicianJ

PK-N

C

South Tianshanaccretionary complexundifferentiated

Devonian

Ophiolitic melange

Felsic Pluton

Thrust

Quaternary TriassicT Tarim sequences undifferentiated

Tianshan sequences undifferentiated

TJ

C

DushanziKuche

Tarim CratonSouth Tianshan Accretionary Complex

Kepingtag ThrustBelt

Northern Ili-Central Tianshan Arc

North TianshanAccretionary

ComplexJunggar Arc-Accretionary

Complex

P

Q

215degNorthern Thrust Zone

Atbashy-Inychek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim FaultNorth Tianshan Fault

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

K-N

K-NK-N

J

T

C

C1 D1-CQQC1

C1C1

C1 C2

C2

E2

S1-2S1-2 S3

S3O3

DD

P

P

P

SS

Section in Fig 10

Fig 3 Schematic geological and geophysical cross-section showing major tectonic units of the Tianshan collage (modified after Xiao et al 2004d) See text for explanation Line ofsection is marked in Fig 2 and position of Fig 10 is indicated

1319W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Precambrian strata

Early Paleozoic strata

Late Paleozoic strata

Mesozoic strata

Cenozoic Granitoids

Gabbrodiabase

HPUHP metamorphicrocks

Strike-slip fault

Fault

Thrust

Ophiolitic melange

Ultramafic-maficintrusions

88deg 90deg86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg76deg74deg72deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

72deg 74deg 76deg 86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

North Tianshan Fault

Nikolaev Line-North Nalati Fault

Atbashy-Inylchek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim Fault

Talas-Ferghana Strike-slip Fault

4

5

1

4

3

2

Fig 5 Simplified geological map of the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao and Klemd 2003 Gao et al 2009ab Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c)

1320WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1321W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

volcanic rocks of possible active margin origin occur along the south-ern margin of the TurpanndashHami Devonian rocks are composed ofmafic and pyroclastic rocks clastic sediments and calc-alkaline felsicvolcanic lavas and tuffs and the Carboniferous mainly of lavas pyro-clastic rocks greywacke and carbonates DevonianndashCarboniferoustholeiitic basalts and calc-alkaline andesites have been interpretedto belong to an island arc (Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The middle Dananhu Unit the Kanggurtag accretionary complexcontains basalt lavas and pyroclastic rocks that were thrust south-ward over the Yamansu forearc (Xiao et al 2004c) These volcanicrocks are subdivided into two major assemblages coherent strata inthe south and meacutelanges and broken formations in the north (Yanget al 1996 Li et al 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The coherent strata in-clude several early to mid-Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary rocksthe geochemistry of tholeiitic rocks suggests an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The southern Yamansu forearc-arc is characterized by lavas volcani-clastic rocks and terrigenous clastic sediments interbedded with lime-stones (Xiao et al 2004c) Basalts andesites cherts and turbidites ofDevonian age are imbricated with weakly metamorphosed fine-grained clastic sediments and carbonates and overlain by Carbonifer-ous andesite basalt dacite rhyolite spilite and keratophyre (Bai1994) Pillow basalts with MORB geochemistry radiolarian cherts andturbidites of Carboniferous age were regarded by Bai (1994) as rem-nants of a meacutelange Some late Carboniferous andesites and rhyolitesare interbedded with clastic sediments and limestones The andesiteshave a calc-alkaline geochemical pattern and the basalts an oceanic tho-leiite geochemical signature thereby indicating an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Ji et al 1999 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The Permianis characterized by sandstones siltstones cherts basalts andesites andrhyolites (Chen et al 2003 Zuo et al 2006)

Gabbros diorites quartze-diorites and adamellites of late Paleozoicage intruded the DananhuUnit thatwas intruded by granites and granit-ic porphyries some of which have early Carboniferous isotopic ages(Chen et al 2003 2005 Zuo et al 2006) Porphyry copper depositsmay be late Devonian to Carboniferous in age (Chen et al 2005) Someporphyry deposits have late Carboniferous to early Permian isotopicages For example a granitic porphyry in the Tuwumine has a UndashPb zir-con age of 301plusmn13 Ma (Li et al 2002) and a granitic porphyry at Chihua UndashPb zircon age of 294plusmn4Ma (Li et al 2002 Chen et al 2005) thesegranitic rocksmay have formed during a Late Carboniferousndashearly Perm-ian accretionary event

Some Alaskan-type zoned maficndashultramafic complexes along themain axis of the Dananhu arc have yielded SHRIMP zircon ages of2692plusmn32 Ma and 2770plusmn32 Ma (Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cZhou et al 2004) Zircon SIMS UndashPb dating of the Poshi HongshishanBijiashan and Huangshan NindashCu-bearing and Xiangshan NindashCundashTindashFe-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in the Eastern Tianshan andBeishan Rift yields a relatively restricted range of 2786 Ma to2840 Ma (Ao et al 2010 Qin et al 2011) Single zircon UndashPbSHRIMP and evaporation ages and RendashOs KndashAr and SmndashNd ages ofporphyry-type copper deposits and adakitic rocks (Qin 2000 Rui etal 2001 2002 Qin et al 2002 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cHan et al 2010b) indicate that this island arc may have lasted tothe Carboniferous and early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

In this Dananhu Unit shear zones have Permian to Triassic maindeformation ages such as the Qiugemingtashi ductile high-strainzone of 2629ndash2428 Ma based on ArndashAr dating (Chen et al 2007)The Tianger high-strain zone along the northern part of the Unit hasan ArndashAr age of 266 Ma (Yang et al 2007b 2009)

According to Xiao et al (2004c) the Dananhu arc in the ChineseEastern Tianshan formed the southern part of the intra-oceanicHarlikndashDananhu island arc system A combination of isotopic data andregional geology indicates that the Dananhu subduction system gaverise from the Ordovician to the early Carboniferous to an intra-oceanic arc that evolved into a Cordilleran-type active continental

margin (part of or outboard of the Siberian active margin) in the lateCarboniferous to early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China

The North Tianshan meacutelange occurs along the North Tianshanfault and the AqqikkudukndashWeiya ophiolite-bearing fault (Shu et al1999 2002 Xiao et al 2004c) It separates the Dananhu arc to thenorth from the Central Tianshan arc and Northern Ili arc to thesouth (Xiao et al 2004c) The fault marks a suture zone that containshigh-pressure glaucophane-phengite schists (Xiao and Tang 1991Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu and Qian 2003) and Ordovi-cianndashSilurian turbidites and ophiolitic fragments which include ser-pentinite meacutelanges and ultramafic rocks (Windley et al 1990 Maet al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2002 Charvet et al 2007)

The ophiolitic meacutelanges which are exposed discontinuously in azone from Mishigou to Gangou and then to Weiya of foliated serpen-tinites cumulate peridotites gabbros diabase dykes tholeiites andcherts The matrices of the meacutelanges include greenschist-facies gray-wackes and turbidites including tuffs siltstones and sandy phyllites(Ma et al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Charvet et al2007)

The presence of high-pressure phengite schists and glaucophaneschists at Gangous Mishigou and Weiya (Ma et al 1997 Shu et al1999) indicates that subduction took place along this suture zone al-though the age of subduction is poorly constrained (Xiao and Tang1991 Allen et al 1993a Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu andQian 2003)

In the northern part of the meacutelange a Permian olistostrome sedi-mentary sequence contains olistoliths of Carboniferous limestone andsome mafic dykes (Shu et al 2011b) Some Permian pillow basalts(Fig 7A) are juxtaposed against Permian siliceous turbidites volcanicbreccias deep-water cherts and Carboniferous limestone olistolithswhich are strongly deformed into huge recumbent folds

Along the North Tianshan Carboniferous olistostromes containblocks of limestones cherts and volcanics in a matrix of mudstones(Shu et al 2000 Xiao et al 2004c Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al2009b) Broken formations comprise blocks of red siliceous mud-stones greenish cherts and siliceous tuffs in a matrix of black mud-stones Such rocks form a colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKoelahighway (Fig 7B) Block-in-matrix meacutelanges with olistoliths of sili-ceous mudstones cherts and limestones in a matrix of mudstonescan be seen along the UrumqindashAiweirgou highway (Fig 7C and D)The olistostromes broken formations meacutelanges and coherent unitsare widely considered to be part of the forearc accretionary prism ofthe North Tianshan (Shu et al 2000 2011b Xiao et al 2004cCharvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009b)

Farther west in the western part of the Chinese Tianshan theBayingou ophiolite on this North Tianshan fault (Fig 6) containsmicrofossils including late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolariaand conodonts (Wang et al 1990 Xiao and Tang 1991 Xiao et al1992 1994b) Ophiolitic olivine clinopyroxenites gabbro cumulates andsheeted dykes are thrust against tholeiitic basalts with late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolaria and conodonts in cherty rock intercalations(Wang et al 1990 Li and Cui 1994) A plagiogranite of the Bayingouophiolite (Fig 6) has a SHRIMP zircon age of 3248plusmn71 Ma (Xia et al2004 Xu et al 2006) which predates the time of ophiolite emplacementinto the North Tianshan meacutelange

Based on the data given above we interpret the rock assemblagesalong this suture zone as remnants of an accretionary wedge thatformed in a late Paleozoic to early Permian subduction zone Theyshare similar features to those classical colored meacutelanges from theAmerican Cordillera Alaska Oman and Makran (White 1982 Searleet al 1994 McCall 1996 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997Bradley et al 2003 Hosseini-Barzi and Talbot 2003 Furlong andSchwartz 2004) The western part of the accretionary wedge could

Urumqi

Korla Kuche

42 N

44 N

42 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

44 N

HP-UHP rocksNorthern Ili arc Ophiolitic ultramafic rocks and melange

Island arc (Pz-P1)Tectonic boundaryBlueschist Cross-section

Accretionary complex

0 Km 100

Fig 9 Fig 10

SSoouutthh TTiiaannsshhaann ((KKookksshhaaaall--KKuummiisshhii)) aaccccrreettiioonnaarryy ccoommpplleexx

~

~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

BayingouAxi

Northern Ili arc

Changawuzi

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

to Dushanzi

Kumishi

MishigouTielimaiti

Yushugou

AiweiergouGangou

Fig 6 Tectonic map of the Chinese Western Tianshan showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao et al 1998 2009b Gao and Klemd2003 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) Figs 9 and 10 are marked

1322 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

have been related to southward subduction beneath the Northern Iliarc The situation in the eastern part could have been different andall the meacutelanges along the North Tianshan fault and to the north of

Fig 7 Field photos of the Northern Tianshan A Permian pillow basalts Baiyanggou lookingnortheast communication tower for scale C and D Meacutelanges in the Eastern Tianshan look

it represent the accretionary complex over which the Danahu arcwas constructed a simple tectonic scenario as described by Allen etal (1993b)

east scientist for scale B Colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKorla highway lookinging south hammer for scale

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

Abrajevitch A Van der Voo R Levashova NM Bazhenov ML 2007 Paleomagneticconstraints on the paleogeography and oroclinal bending of the Devonian volcanicarc in Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 441 67ndash84

Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

Badarch G Orolmaa D 1998 Overview of the geology and tectonic evolution ofsouthern Mongolia Mongolian Geoscientist 10 10ndash16

Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

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Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

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Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

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Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

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Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

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Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

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Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

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Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 4: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

Northern Iliarc

C2

C3

S2

S1

C1

P1

P2

T1

T2

D3

D2

D1

O3

O2

O1

Camb3

Camb2

Camb1

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

Tarim-Karakumcontinent margin

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Silu

rian

Ord

ovic

ian

Dev

onia

nC

arbo

nife

rous

Per

mia

nT

riass

icP

reca

mbr

ian

Cam

bria

n

FaunaFloraUnconformityThrustSubduction

Clasticpelitic rockChertLimestoneConglomerateGneiss schist

Granitic rockAcidic and intermediate volcanic rockAcidic and intermediate volcaniclastic rockBasaltOphioliteophiolitic melange withinthe Kokshaal-Kumishi accretionary complex

N SNorth Tianshanaccretionary complex

Str

ong

thur

st im

bric

atio

n

Kokshaal-KumishfaultNorth Tianshan

fault(W)

HPUHP

HTLP

Fig 4 Stratigraphic columns of the tectonic units of the Tianshan orogenic collages (modified after XBGMR 1993 Xiao et al 2004c Burtman 2006ab 2008) HPUHP meanshigh-pressureUltrahigh-pressure metamorphism and HTLP means high-temperaturelow pressure metamorphism

0 50km

PermianCretaceous-NeogeneCarboniferous

Volcanic rocks

Sandstone

Sandstone tuff volcanic rocks conglomerate

Strike-slip directionSilurian

Jurassic OrdovicianJ

PK-N

C

South Tianshanaccretionary complexundifferentiated

Devonian

Ophiolitic melange

Felsic Pluton

Thrust

Quaternary TriassicT Tarim sequences undifferentiated

Tianshan sequences undifferentiated

TJ

C

DushanziKuche

Tarim CratonSouth Tianshan Accretionary Complex

Kepingtag ThrustBelt

Northern Ili-Central Tianshan Arc

North TianshanAccretionary

ComplexJunggar Arc-Accretionary

Complex

P

Q

215degNorthern Thrust Zone

Atbashy-Inychek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim FaultNorth Tianshan Fault

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

0

4 km

4 km

8 km

K-N

K-NK-N

J

T

C

C1 D1-CQQC1

C1C1

C1 C2

C2

E2

S1-2S1-2 S3

S3O3

DD

P

P

P

SS

Section in Fig 10

Fig 3 Schematic geological and geophysical cross-section showing major tectonic units of the Tianshan collage (modified after Xiao et al 2004d) See text for explanation Line ofsection is marked in Fig 2 and position of Fig 10 is indicated

1319W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Precambrian strata

Early Paleozoic strata

Late Paleozoic strata

Mesozoic strata

Cenozoic Granitoids

Gabbrodiabase

HPUHP metamorphicrocks

Strike-slip fault

Fault

Thrust

Ophiolitic melange

Ultramafic-maficintrusions

88deg 90deg86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg76deg74deg72deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

72deg 74deg 76deg 86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

North Tianshan Fault

Nikolaev Line-North Nalati Fault

Atbashy-Inylchek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim Fault

Talas-Ferghana Strike-slip Fault

4

5

1

4

3

2

Fig 5 Simplified geological map of the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao and Klemd 2003 Gao et al 2009ab Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c)

1320WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1321W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

volcanic rocks of possible active margin origin occur along the south-ern margin of the TurpanndashHami Devonian rocks are composed ofmafic and pyroclastic rocks clastic sediments and calc-alkaline felsicvolcanic lavas and tuffs and the Carboniferous mainly of lavas pyro-clastic rocks greywacke and carbonates DevonianndashCarboniferoustholeiitic basalts and calc-alkaline andesites have been interpretedto belong to an island arc (Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The middle Dananhu Unit the Kanggurtag accretionary complexcontains basalt lavas and pyroclastic rocks that were thrust south-ward over the Yamansu forearc (Xiao et al 2004c) These volcanicrocks are subdivided into two major assemblages coherent strata inthe south and meacutelanges and broken formations in the north (Yanget al 1996 Li et al 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The coherent strata in-clude several early to mid-Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary rocksthe geochemistry of tholeiitic rocks suggests an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The southern Yamansu forearc-arc is characterized by lavas volcani-clastic rocks and terrigenous clastic sediments interbedded with lime-stones (Xiao et al 2004c) Basalts andesites cherts and turbidites ofDevonian age are imbricated with weakly metamorphosed fine-grained clastic sediments and carbonates and overlain by Carbonifer-ous andesite basalt dacite rhyolite spilite and keratophyre (Bai1994) Pillow basalts with MORB geochemistry radiolarian cherts andturbidites of Carboniferous age were regarded by Bai (1994) as rem-nants of a meacutelange Some late Carboniferous andesites and rhyolitesare interbedded with clastic sediments and limestones The andesiteshave a calc-alkaline geochemical pattern and the basalts an oceanic tho-leiite geochemical signature thereby indicating an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Ji et al 1999 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The Permianis characterized by sandstones siltstones cherts basalts andesites andrhyolites (Chen et al 2003 Zuo et al 2006)

Gabbros diorites quartze-diorites and adamellites of late Paleozoicage intruded the DananhuUnit thatwas intruded by granites and granit-ic porphyries some of which have early Carboniferous isotopic ages(Chen et al 2003 2005 Zuo et al 2006) Porphyry copper depositsmay be late Devonian to Carboniferous in age (Chen et al 2005) Someporphyry deposits have late Carboniferous to early Permian isotopicages For example a granitic porphyry in the Tuwumine has a UndashPb zir-con age of 301plusmn13 Ma (Li et al 2002) and a granitic porphyry at Chihua UndashPb zircon age of 294plusmn4Ma (Li et al 2002 Chen et al 2005) thesegranitic rocksmay have formed during a Late Carboniferousndashearly Perm-ian accretionary event

Some Alaskan-type zoned maficndashultramafic complexes along themain axis of the Dananhu arc have yielded SHRIMP zircon ages of2692plusmn32 Ma and 2770plusmn32 Ma (Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cZhou et al 2004) Zircon SIMS UndashPb dating of the Poshi HongshishanBijiashan and Huangshan NindashCu-bearing and Xiangshan NindashCundashTindashFe-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in the Eastern Tianshan andBeishan Rift yields a relatively restricted range of 2786 Ma to2840 Ma (Ao et al 2010 Qin et al 2011) Single zircon UndashPbSHRIMP and evaporation ages and RendashOs KndashAr and SmndashNd ages ofporphyry-type copper deposits and adakitic rocks (Qin 2000 Rui etal 2001 2002 Qin et al 2002 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cHan et al 2010b) indicate that this island arc may have lasted tothe Carboniferous and early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

In this Dananhu Unit shear zones have Permian to Triassic maindeformation ages such as the Qiugemingtashi ductile high-strainzone of 2629ndash2428 Ma based on ArndashAr dating (Chen et al 2007)The Tianger high-strain zone along the northern part of the Unit hasan ArndashAr age of 266 Ma (Yang et al 2007b 2009)

According to Xiao et al (2004c) the Dananhu arc in the ChineseEastern Tianshan formed the southern part of the intra-oceanicHarlikndashDananhu island arc system A combination of isotopic data andregional geology indicates that the Dananhu subduction system gaverise from the Ordovician to the early Carboniferous to an intra-oceanic arc that evolved into a Cordilleran-type active continental

margin (part of or outboard of the Siberian active margin) in the lateCarboniferous to early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China

The North Tianshan meacutelange occurs along the North Tianshanfault and the AqqikkudukndashWeiya ophiolite-bearing fault (Shu et al1999 2002 Xiao et al 2004c) It separates the Dananhu arc to thenorth from the Central Tianshan arc and Northern Ili arc to thesouth (Xiao et al 2004c) The fault marks a suture zone that containshigh-pressure glaucophane-phengite schists (Xiao and Tang 1991Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu and Qian 2003) and Ordovi-cianndashSilurian turbidites and ophiolitic fragments which include ser-pentinite meacutelanges and ultramafic rocks (Windley et al 1990 Maet al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2002 Charvet et al 2007)

The ophiolitic meacutelanges which are exposed discontinuously in azone from Mishigou to Gangou and then to Weiya of foliated serpen-tinites cumulate peridotites gabbros diabase dykes tholeiites andcherts The matrices of the meacutelanges include greenschist-facies gray-wackes and turbidites including tuffs siltstones and sandy phyllites(Ma et al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Charvet et al2007)

The presence of high-pressure phengite schists and glaucophaneschists at Gangous Mishigou and Weiya (Ma et al 1997 Shu et al1999) indicates that subduction took place along this suture zone al-though the age of subduction is poorly constrained (Xiao and Tang1991 Allen et al 1993a Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu andQian 2003)

In the northern part of the meacutelange a Permian olistostrome sedi-mentary sequence contains olistoliths of Carboniferous limestone andsome mafic dykes (Shu et al 2011b) Some Permian pillow basalts(Fig 7A) are juxtaposed against Permian siliceous turbidites volcanicbreccias deep-water cherts and Carboniferous limestone olistolithswhich are strongly deformed into huge recumbent folds

Along the North Tianshan Carboniferous olistostromes containblocks of limestones cherts and volcanics in a matrix of mudstones(Shu et al 2000 Xiao et al 2004c Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al2009b) Broken formations comprise blocks of red siliceous mud-stones greenish cherts and siliceous tuffs in a matrix of black mud-stones Such rocks form a colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKoelahighway (Fig 7B) Block-in-matrix meacutelanges with olistoliths of sili-ceous mudstones cherts and limestones in a matrix of mudstonescan be seen along the UrumqindashAiweirgou highway (Fig 7C and D)The olistostromes broken formations meacutelanges and coherent unitsare widely considered to be part of the forearc accretionary prism ofthe North Tianshan (Shu et al 2000 2011b Xiao et al 2004cCharvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009b)

Farther west in the western part of the Chinese Tianshan theBayingou ophiolite on this North Tianshan fault (Fig 6) containsmicrofossils including late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolariaand conodonts (Wang et al 1990 Xiao and Tang 1991 Xiao et al1992 1994b) Ophiolitic olivine clinopyroxenites gabbro cumulates andsheeted dykes are thrust against tholeiitic basalts with late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolaria and conodonts in cherty rock intercalations(Wang et al 1990 Li and Cui 1994) A plagiogranite of the Bayingouophiolite (Fig 6) has a SHRIMP zircon age of 3248plusmn71 Ma (Xia et al2004 Xu et al 2006) which predates the time of ophiolite emplacementinto the North Tianshan meacutelange

Based on the data given above we interpret the rock assemblagesalong this suture zone as remnants of an accretionary wedge thatformed in a late Paleozoic to early Permian subduction zone Theyshare similar features to those classical colored meacutelanges from theAmerican Cordillera Alaska Oman and Makran (White 1982 Searleet al 1994 McCall 1996 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997Bradley et al 2003 Hosseini-Barzi and Talbot 2003 Furlong andSchwartz 2004) The western part of the accretionary wedge could

Urumqi

Korla Kuche

42 N

44 N

42 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

44 N

HP-UHP rocksNorthern Ili arc Ophiolitic ultramafic rocks and melange

Island arc (Pz-P1)Tectonic boundaryBlueschist Cross-section

Accretionary complex

0 Km 100

Fig 9 Fig 10

SSoouutthh TTiiaannsshhaann ((KKookksshhaaaall--KKuummiisshhii)) aaccccrreettiioonnaarryy ccoommpplleexx

~

~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

BayingouAxi

Northern Ili arc

Changawuzi

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

to Dushanzi

Kumishi

MishigouTielimaiti

Yushugou

AiweiergouGangou

Fig 6 Tectonic map of the Chinese Western Tianshan showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao et al 1998 2009b Gao and Klemd2003 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) Figs 9 and 10 are marked

1322 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

have been related to southward subduction beneath the Northern Iliarc The situation in the eastern part could have been different andall the meacutelanges along the North Tianshan fault and to the north of

Fig 7 Field photos of the Northern Tianshan A Permian pillow basalts Baiyanggou lookingnortheast communication tower for scale C and D Meacutelanges in the Eastern Tianshan look

it represent the accretionary complex over which the Danahu arcwas constructed a simple tectonic scenario as described by Allen etal (1993b)

east scientist for scale B Colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKorla highway lookinging south hammer for scale

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

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Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

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Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

Windley BF Allen MB Zhang C Zhao ZY Wang GR 1990 Paleozoic accretionand Cenozoic redeformation of the Chinese Tien Shan Range Central Asia Geology18 128ndash131

Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

Xiao XC Tang YQ 1991 Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of the CentralAsian Complex Megasuture Belt Beijing Science and Technology Press Beijing6ndash25 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 5: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

Precambrian strata

Early Paleozoic strata

Late Paleozoic strata

Mesozoic strata

Cenozoic Granitoids

Gabbrodiabase

HPUHP metamorphicrocks

Strike-slip fault

Fault

Thrust

Ophiolitic melange

Ultramafic-maficintrusions

88deg 90deg86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg76deg74deg72deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

72deg 74deg 76deg 86deg84deg82deg80deg78deg

42deg

44deg

40deg

North Tianshan Fault

Nikolaev Line-North Nalati Fault

Atbashy-Inylchek-South Nalati-Qawabulak Fault

North Tarim Fault

Talas-Ferghana Strike-slip Fault

4

5

1

4

3

2

Fig 5 Simplified geological map of the Chinese Tianshan and its adjacent areas showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao and Klemd 2003 Gao et al 2009ab Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c)

1320WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1321W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

volcanic rocks of possible active margin origin occur along the south-ern margin of the TurpanndashHami Devonian rocks are composed ofmafic and pyroclastic rocks clastic sediments and calc-alkaline felsicvolcanic lavas and tuffs and the Carboniferous mainly of lavas pyro-clastic rocks greywacke and carbonates DevonianndashCarboniferoustholeiitic basalts and calc-alkaline andesites have been interpretedto belong to an island arc (Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The middle Dananhu Unit the Kanggurtag accretionary complexcontains basalt lavas and pyroclastic rocks that were thrust south-ward over the Yamansu forearc (Xiao et al 2004c) These volcanicrocks are subdivided into two major assemblages coherent strata inthe south and meacutelanges and broken formations in the north (Yanget al 1996 Li et al 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The coherent strata in-clude several early to mid-Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary rocksthe geochemistry of tholeiitic rocks suggests an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The southern Yamansu forearc-arc is characterized by lavas volcani-clastic rocks and terrigenous clastic sediments interbedded with lime-stones (Xiao et al 2004c) Basalts andesites cherts and turbidites ofDevonian age are imbricated with weakly metamorphosed fine-grained clastic sediments and carbonates and overlain by Carbonifer-ous andesite basalt dacite rhyolite spilite and keratophyre (Bai1994) Pillow basalts with MORB geochemistry radiolarian cherts andturbidites of Carboniferous age were regarded by Bai (1994) as rem-nants of a meacutelange Some late Carboniferous andesites and rhyolitesare interbedded with clastic sediments and limestones The andesiteshave a calc-alkaline geochemical pattern and the basalts an oceanic tho-leiite geochemical signature thereby indicating an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Ji et al 1999 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The Permianis characterized by sandstones siltstones cherts basalts andesites andrhyolites (Chen et al 2003 Zuo et al 2006)

Gabbros diorites quartze-diorites and adamellites of late Paleozoicage intruded the DananhuUnit thatwas intruded by granites and granit-ic porphyries some of which have early Carboniferous isotopic ages(Chen et al 2003 2005 Zuo et al 2006) Porphyry copper depositsmay be late Devonian to Carboniferous in age (Chen et al 2005) Someporphyry deposits have late Carboniferous to early Permian isotopicages For example a granitic porphyry in the Tuwumine has a UndashPb zir-con age of 301plusmn13 Ma (Li et al 2002) and a granitic porphyry at Chihua UndashPb zircon age of 294plusmn4Ma (Li et al 2002 Chen et al 2005) thesegranitic rocksmay have formed during a Late Carboniferousndashearly Perm-ian accretionary event

Some Alaskan-type zoned maficndashultramafic complexes along themain axis of the Dananhu arc have yielded SHRIMP zircon ages of2692plusmn32 Ma and 2770plusmn32 Ma (Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cZhou et al 2004) Zircon SIMS UndashPb dating of the Poshi HongshishanBijiashan and Huangshan NindashCu-bearing and Xiangshan NindashCundashTindashFe-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in the Eastern Tianshan andBeishan Rift yields a relatively restricted range of 2786 Ma to2840 Ma (Ao et al 2010 Qin et al 2011) Single zircon UndashPbSHRIMP and evaporation ages and RendashOs KndashAr and SmndashNd ages ofporphyry-type copper deposits and adakitic rocks (Qin 2000 Rui etal 2001 2002 Qin et al 2002 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cHan et al 2010b) indicate that this island arc may have lasted tothe Carboniferous and early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

In this Dananhu Unit shear zones have Permian to Triassic maindeformation ages such as the Qiugemingtashi ductile high-strainzone of 2629ndash2428 Ma based on ArndashAr dating (Chen et al 2007)The Tianger high-strain zone along the northern part of the Unit hasan ArndashAr age of 266 Ma (Yang et al 2007b 2009)

According to Xiao et al (2004c) the Dananhu arc in the ChineseEastern Tianshan formed the southern part of the intra-oceanicHarlikndashDananhu island arc system A combination of isotopic data andregional geology indicates that the Dananhu subduction system gaverise from the Ordovician to the early Carboniferous to an intra-oceanic arc that evolved into a Cordilleran-type active continental

margin (part of or outboard of the Siberian active margin) in the lateCarboniferous to early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China

The North Tianshan meacutelange occurs along the North Tianshanfault and the AqqikkudukndashWeiya ophiolite-bearing fault (Shu et al1999 2002 Xiao et al 2004c) It separates the Dananhu arc to thenorth from the Central Tianshan arc and Northern Ili arc to thesouth (Xiao et al 2004c) The fault marks a suture zone that containshigh-pressure glaucophane-phengite schists (Xiao and Tang 1991Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu and Qian 2003) and Ordovi-cianndashSilurian turbidites and ophiolitic fragments which include ser-pentinite meacutelanges and ultramafic rocks (Windley et al 1990 Maet al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2002 Charvet et al 2007)

The ophiolitic meacutelanges which are exposed discontinuously in azone from Mishigou to Gangou and then to Weiya of foliated serpen-tinites cumulate peridotites gabbros diabase dykes tholeiites andcherts The matrices of the meacutelanges include greenschist-facies gray-wackes and turbidites including tuffs siltstones and sandy phyllites(Ma et al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Charvet et al2007)

The presence of high-pressure phengite schists and glaucophaneschists at Gangous Mishigou and Weiya (Ma et al 1997 Shu et al1999) indicates that subduction took place along this suture zone al-though the age of subduction is poorly constrained (Xiao and Tang1991 Allen et al 1993a Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu andQian 2003)

In the northern part of the meacutelange a Permian olistostrome sedi-mentary sequence contains olistoliths of Carboniferous limestone andsome mafic dykes (Shu et al 2011b) Some Permian pillow basalts(Fig 7A) are juxtaposed against Permian siliceous turbidites volcanicbreccias deep-water cherts and Carboniferous limestone olistolithswhich are strongly deformed into huge recumbent folds

Along the North Tianshan Carboniferous olistostromes containblocks of limestones cherts and volcanics in a matrix of mudstones(Shu et al 2000 Xiao et al 2004c Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al2009b) Broken formations comprise blocks of red siliceous mud-stones greenish cherts and siliceous tuffs in a matrix of black mud-stones Such rocks form a colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKoelahighway (Fig 7B) Block-in-matrix meacutelanges with olistoliths of sili-ceous mudstones cherts and limestones in a matrix of mudstonescan be seen along the UrumqindashAiweirgou highway (Fig 7C and D)The olistostromes broken formations meacutelanges and coherent unitsare widely considered to be part of the forearc accretionary prism ofthe North Tianshan (Shu et al 2000 2011b Xiao et al 2004cCharvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009b)

Farther west in the western part of the Chinese Tianshan theBayingou ophiolite on this North Tianshan fault (Fig 6) containsmicrofossils including late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolariaand conodonts (Wang et al 1990 Xiao and Tang 1991 Xiao et al1992 1994b) Ophiolitic olivine clinopyroxenites gabbro cumulates andsheeted dykes are thrust against tholeiitic basalts with late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolaria and conodonts in cherty rock intercalations(Wang et al 1990 Li and Cui 1994) A plagiogranite of the Bayingouophiolite (Fig 6) has a SHRIMP zircon age of 3248plusmn71 Ma (Xia et al2004 Xu et al 2006) which predates the time of ophiolite emplacementinto the North Tianshan meacutelange

Based on the data given above we interpret the rock assemblagesalong this suture zone as remnants of an accretionary wedge thatformed in a late Paleozoic to early Permian subduction zone Theyshare similar features to those classical colored meacutelanges from theAmerican Cordillera Alaska Oman and Makran (White 1982 Searleet al 1994 McCall 1996 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997Bradley et al 2003 Hosseini-Barzi and Talbot 2003 Furlong andSchwartz 2004) The western part of the accretionary wedge could

Urumqi

Korla Kuche

42 N

44 N

42 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

44 N

HP-UHP rocksNorthern Ili arc Ophiolitic ultramafic rocks and melange

Island arc (Pz-P1)Tectonic boundaryBlueschist Cross-section

Accretionary complex

0 Km 100

Fig 9 Fig 10

SSoouutthh TTiiaannsshhaann ((KKookksshhaaaall--KKuummiisshhii)) aaccccrreettiioonnaarryy ccoommpplleexx

~

~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

BayingouAxi

Northern Ili arc

Changawuzi

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

to Dushanzi

Kumishi

MishigouTielimaiti

Yushugou

AiweiergouGangou

Fig 6 Tectonic map of the Chinese Western Tianshan showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao et al 1998 2009b Gao and Klemd2003 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) Figs 9 and 10 are marked

1322 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

have been related to southward subduction beneath the Northern Iliarc The situation in the eastern part could have been different andall the meacutelanges along the North Tianshan fault and to the north of

Fig 7 Field photos of the Northern Tianshan A Permian pillow basalts Baiyanggou lookingnortheast communication tower for scale C and D Meacutelanges in the Eastern Tianshan look

it represent the accretionary complex over which the Danahu arcwas constructed a simple tectonic scenario as described by Allen etal (1993b)

east scientist for scale B Colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKorla highway lookinging south hammer for scale

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

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Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

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Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

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1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

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Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

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Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 6: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1321W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

volcanic rocks of possible active margin origin occur along the south-ern margin of the TurpanndashHami Devonian rocks are composed ofmafic and pyroclastic rocks clastic sediments and calc-alkaline felsicvolcanic lavas and tuffs and the Carboniferous mainly of lavas pyro-clastic rocks greywacke and carbonates DevonianndashCarboniferoustholeiitic basalts and calc-alkaline andesites have been interpretedto belong to an island arc (Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The middle Dananhu Unit the Kanggurtag accretionary complexcontains basalt lavas and pyroclastic rocks that were thrust south-ward over the Yamansu forearc (Xiao et al 2004c) These volcanicrocks are subdivided into two major assemblages coherent strata inthe south and meacutelanges and broken formations in the north (Yanget al 1996 Li et al 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The coherent strata in-clude several early to mid-Carboniferous volcano-sedimentary rocksthe geochemistry of tholeiitic rocks suggests an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Zhou et al 2001b)

The southern Yamansu forearc-arc is characterized by lavas volcani-clastic rocks and terrigenous clastic sediments interbedded with lime-stones (Xiao et al 2004c) Basalts andesites cherts and turbidites ofDevonian age are imbricated with weakly metamorphosed fine-grained clastic sediments and carbonates and overlain by Carbonifer-ous andesite basalt dacite rhyolite spilite and keratophyre (Bai1994) Pillow basalts with MORB geochemistry radiolarian cherts andturbidites of Carboniferous age were regarded by Bai (1994) as rem-nants of a meacutelange Some late Carboniferous andesites and rhyolitesare interbedded with clastic sediments and limestones The andesiteshave a calc-alkaline geochemical pattern and the basalts an oceanic tho-leiite geochemical signature thereby indicating an island arc origin(Yang et al 1996 Ji et al 1999 2000 Zhou et al 2001b) The Permianis characterized by sandstones siltstones cherts basalts andesites andrhyolites (Chen et al 2003 Zuo et al 2006)

Gabbros diorites quartze-diorites and adamellites of late Paleozoicage intruded the DananhuUnit thatwas intruded by granites and granit-ic porphyries some of which have early Carboniferous isotopic ages(Chen et al 2003 2005 Zuo et al 2006) Porphyry copper depositsmay be late Devonian to Carboniferous in age (Chen et al 2005) Someporphyry deposits have late Carboniferous to early Permian isotopicages For example a granitic porphyry in the Tuwumine has a UndashPb zir-con age of 301plusmn13 Ma (Li et al 2002) and a granitic porphyry at Chihua UndashPb zircon age of 294plusmn4Ma (Li et al 2002 Chen et al 2005) thesegranitic rocksmay have formed during a Late Carboniferousndashearly Perm-ian accretionary event

Some Alaskan-type zoned maficndashultramafic complexes along themain axis of the Dananhu arc have yielded SHRIMP zircon ages of2692plusmn32 Ma and 2770plusmn32 Ma (Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cZhou et al 2004) Zircon SIMS UndashPb dating of the Poshi HongshishanBijiashan and Huangshan NindashCu-bearing and Xiangshan NindashCundashTindashFe-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in the Eastern Tianshan andBeishan Rift yields a relatively restricted range of 2786 Ma to2840 Ma (Ao et al 2010 Qin et al 2011) Single zircon UndashPbSHRIMP and evaporation ages and RendashOs KndashAr and SmndashNd ages ofporphyry-type copper deposits and adakitic rocks (Qin 2000 Rui etal 2001 2002 Qin et al 2002 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004cHan et al 2010b) indicate that this island arc may have lasted tothe Carboniferous and early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

In this Dananhu Unit shear zones have Permian to Triassic maindeformation ages such as the Qiugemingtashi ductile high-strainzone of 2629ndash2428 Ma based on ArndashAr dating (Chen et al 2007)The Tianger high-strain zone along the northern part of the Unit hasan ArndashAr age of 266 Ma (Yang et al 2007b 2009)

According to Xiao et al (2004c) the Dananhu arc in the ChineseEastern Tianshan formed the southern part of the intra-oceanicHarlikndashDananhu island arc system A combination of isotopic data andregional geology indicates that the Dananhu subduction system gaverise from the Ordovician to the early Carboniferous to an intra-oceanic arc that evolved into a Cordilleran-type active continental

margin (part of or outboard of the Siberian active margin) in the lateCarboniferous to early Permian (Xiao et al 2004c)

32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China

The North Tianshan meacutelange occurs along the North Tianshanfault and the AqqikkudukndashWeiya ophiolite-bearing fault (Shu et al1999 2002 Xiao et al 2004c) It separates the Dananhu arc to thenorth from the Central Tianshan arc and Northern Ili arc to thesouth (Xiao et al 2004c) The fault marks a suture zone that containshigh-pressure glaucophane-phengite schists (Xiao and Tang 1991Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu and Qian 2003) and Ordovi-cianndashSilurian turbidites and ophiolitic fragments which include ser-pentinite meacutelanges and ultramafic rocks (Windley et al 1990 Maet al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2002 Charvet et al 2007)

The ophiolitic meacutelanges which are exposed discontinuously in azone from Mishigou to Gangou and then to Weiya of foliated serpen-tinites cumulate peridotites gabbros diabase dykes tholeiites andcherts The matrices of the meacutelanges include greenschist-facies gray-wackes and turbidites including tuffs siltstones and sandy phyllites(Ma et al 1997 Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Charvet et al2007)

The presence of high-pressure phengite schists and glaucophaneschists at Gangous Mishigou and Weiya (Ma et al 1997 Shu et al1999) indicates that subduction took place along this suture zone al-though the age of subduction is poorly constrained (Xiao and Tang1991 Allen et al 1993a Xiao et al 1994a Cui et al 1997 Liu andQian 2003)

In the northern part of the meacutelange a Permian olistostrome sedi-mentary sequence contains olistoliths of Carboniferous limestone andsome mafic dykes (Shu et al 2011b) Some Permian pillow basalts(Fig 7A) are juxtaposed against Permian siliceous turbidites volcanicbreccias deep-water cherts and Carboniferous limestone olistolithswhich are strongly deformed into huge recumbent folds

Along the North Tianshan Carboniferous olistostromes containblocks of limestones cherts and volcanics in a matrix of mudstones(Shu et al 2000 Xiao et al 2004c Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al2009b) Broken formations comprise blocks of red siliceous mud-stones greenish cherts and siliceous tuffs in a matrix of black mud-stones Such rocks form a colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKoelahighway (Fig 7B) Block-in-matrix meacutelanges with olistoliths of sili-ceous mudstones cherts and limestones in a matrix of mudstonescan be seen along the UrumqindashAiweirgou highway (Fig 7C and D)The olistostromes broken formations meacutelanges and coherent unitsare widely considered to be part of the forearc accretionary prism ofthe North Tianshan (Shu et al 2000 2011b Xiao et al 2004cCharvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009b)

Farther west in the western part of the Chinese Tianshan theBayingou ophiolite on this North Tianshan fault (Fig 6) containsmicrofossils including late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolariaand conodonts (Wang et al 1990 Xiao and Tang 1991 Xiao et al1992 1994b) Ophiolitic olivine clinopyroxenites gabbro cumulates andsheeted dykes are thrust against tholeiitic basalts with late Devonianndashearly Carboniferous radiolaria and conodonts in cherty rock intercalations(Wang et al 1990 Li and Cui 1994) A plagiogranite of the Bayingouophiolite (Fig 6) has a SHRIMP zircon age of 3248plusmn71 Ma (Xia et al2004 Xu et al 2006) which predates the time of ophiolite emplacementinto the North Tianshan meacutelange

Based on the data given above we interpret the rock assemblagesalong this suture zone as remnants of an accretionary wedge thatformed in a late Paleozoic to early Permian subduction zone Theyshare similar features to those classical colored meacutelanges from theAmerican Cordillera Alaska Oman and Makran (White 1982 Searleet al 1994 McCall 1996 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997Bradley et al 2003 Hosseini-Barzi and Talbot 2003 Furlong andSchwartz 2004) The western part of the accretionary wedge could

Urumqi

Korla Kuche

42 N

44 N

42 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

44 N

HP-UHP rocksNorthern Ili arc Ophiolitic ultramafic rocks and melange

Island arc (Pz-P1)Tectonic boundaryBlueschist Cross-section

Accretionary complex

0 Km 100

Fig 9 Fig 10

SSoouutthh TTiiaannsshhaann ((KKookksshhaaaall--KKuummiisshhii)) aaccccrreettiioonnaarryy ccoommpplleexx

~

~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

BayingouAxi

Northern Ili arc

Changawuzi

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

to Dushanzi

Kumishi

MishigouTielimaiti

Yushugou

AiweiergouGangou

Fig 6 Tectonic map of the Chinese Western Tianshan showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao et al 1998 2009b Gao and Klemd2003 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) Figs 9 and 10 are marked

1322 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

have been related to southward subduction beneath the Northern Iliarc The situation in the eastern part could have been different andall the meacutelanges along the North Tianshan fault and to the north of

Fig 7 Field photos of the Northern Tianshan A Permian pillow basalts Baiyanggou lookingnortheast communication tower for scale C and D Meacutelanges in the Eastern Tianshan look

it represent the accretionary complex over which the Danahu arcwas constructed a simple tectonic scenario as described by Allen etal (1993b)

east scientist for scale B Colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKorla highway lookinging south hammer for scale

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

Badarch G Orolmaa D 1998 Overview of the geology and tectonic evolution ofsouthern Mongolia Mongolian Geoscientist 10 10ndash16

Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

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Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

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Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

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Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

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Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

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1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 7: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

Urumqi

Korla Kuche

42 N

44 N

42 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

88 N 86 N 84 N 82 N

44 N

HP-UHP rocksNorthern Ili arc Ophiolitic ultramafic rocks and melange

Island arc (Pz-P1)Tectonic boundaryBlueschist Cross-section

Accretionary complex

0 Km 100

Fig 9 Fig 10

SSoouutthh TTiiaannsshhaann ((KKookksshhaaaall--KKuummiisshhii)) aaccccrreettiioonnaarryy ccoommpplleexx

~

~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~

BayingouAxi

Northern Ili arc

Changawuzi

South Tianshan (Kokshaal-Kumishi) accretionary complex

to Dushanzi

Kumishi

MishigouTielimaiti

Yushugou

AiweiergouGangou

Fig 6 Tectonic map of the Chinese Western Tianshan showing major Early Paleozoic tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Gao et al 1998 2009b Gao and Klemd2003 Li et al 2003 Xiao et al 2004c) Figs 9 and 10 are marked

1322 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

have been related to southward subduction beneath the Northern Iliarc The situation in the eastern part could have been different andall the meacutelanges along the North Tianshan fault and to the north of

Fig 7 Field photos of the Northern Tianshan A Permian pillow basalts Baiyanggou lookingnortheast communication tower for scale C and D Meacutelanges in the Eastern Tianshan look

it represent the accretionary complex over which the Danahu arcwas constructed a simple tectonic scenario as described by Allen etal (1993b)

east scientist for scale B Colored meacutelange along the UrumqindashKorla highway lookinging south hammer for scale

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

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Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

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Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

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1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

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Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

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Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 8: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1323W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

33 Central Tianshan arc

331 Central TianshanThe Chinese Central Tianshan was previously defined as a narrow

central massif between the North Tianshan suture to the north andthe South Tianshan suture to the south (Windley et al 1990 Allenet al 1993a) However these sutures become closer and almostmerge farther to the east where they become a narrow fault zone at90deg longitude east of the Urumqi area and farther east they splayinto several sub-faults that include the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault andthe South Tianshan or KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex(Figs 5 and 6) If these faults occur along the two Paleozoic suturesthe segments to the east and west should comprise different tectonicunits On the basis of lithological assemblages deformation stylesgeophysical features and biogeography the former Chinese CentralTianshan is divisible east of longitude 90deg into an eastern segment(Central Tianshan arc) and a western segment (Northern Ili arc)(Deng et al 1992)

The Central Tianshan situated between the AqqikkudugndashWeiyafault and the Kumishi (also called Kumux Shu et al 2004) sub-unitis mainly characterized by greenschist- to amphibolite-facies and lo-cally granulite-facies metasedimentary and associated volcanic rocksand intrusions (Liu et al 2004) which consist of banded and augengneisses amphibolites granitoids schists and marbles of possiblePrecambrian in age (Hu et al 2000) According to Hu et al (2000)these high-grade metamorphic rocks formed in an island arc settingHowever from geochemical and SmndashNd isotopic data the metasedi-mentary rocks in the Central Tianshan arc were regarded by Li et al(2004a) as largely derived from a felsic active continental marginandor continental arc

In addition to the high-grade rocks above there are OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-volcano-sedimentary rocks and CarboniferousndashPermiansedimentary rocks in the Central Tianshan Ordovician basalts andes-ites dacites rhyolites graywackes and Silurian turbidites have under-gone regional low greenschist facies metamorphism whereas EarlyCarboniferous red sandstones mudstones and limestones and Permiancoarse clastic sediments are unmetamorphosed Most OrdovicianndashSilurian meta-sedimentary rocks were intruded by Late Paleozoicgranitoids and EndashW-trending diabase dikes (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a Yang and Zhou 2009)

To the west of Weiya several fault-bound basic granulite-faciestectonic slabs or roof pendants were intruded by the Weiya granite(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) The Weiyagranulite yielded a SmndashNd isochron age of 538plusmn24 Ma andamphibole 40Ar39Ar plateau ages of 432plusmn1 Ma and 435plusmn2 Ma(Shu et al 1999 2000 2002 2011b Guo et al 2002) TheWeiya mafic granulite data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitesvolcanic arc basalts and MORB+VAB (Shu et al 2004) suggestingthat the protoliths probably formed in a volcanic island arc settingalthough more work needs to constrain these notions (Shu et al2004) Both the Silurian granulite and Precambrian metamorphicrocks were locally intruded by a late Paleozoic granite which hasa 40Ar39Ar age on biotite of 250plusmn8 and 246plusmn6 Ma (Hu et al2000) and a SHRIMP UndashPb zircon age of 246ndash229 Ma (Zhanget al 2005b)

The central Tianshan volcanic arc is composed of Ordovician calc-alkaline basalts andesites pyroclastic rocks graywackes and Silurianmeta-flysch (Guo et al 2002) This continental margin arc developedon the Central Tianshan Precambrian metamorphic basement (Shu etal 2002 2004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a)

The Central Tianshan arcwas previously thought to be a Precambrianhigh-grade micro-continental block rifted from the Tarim Craton (Cheet al 1994 Chen et al 1999) either at ca 800 Ma (Shu et al 20022004 2011a Xiao et al 2004a) or in the early Paleozoic (Ma et al1997) However juvenile crustal Nd isotopic data of metasedimentaryrocks from the arc are distinctly different from those of the Tarim Craton

(Hu et al 2000 Li et al 2004a Liu et al 2004) suggesting that the arcwas independent and distant from the craton (Lu et al 2002 2008)

The Chinese Central Tianshan arc was subjected to intense poly-phase deformation and metamorphism but in spite of its Precambri-an ages (Liu et al 2004) the time of formation of the arc remainscontroversial because Paleozoic fossils have been found along thisbelt Systematic geochemical variations in the Carboniferous mag-matic rocks indicate that the Chinese Central Tianshan experienceda change from convergence to extension in the late Carboniferous(Sun et al 2008)

Large-scale thrusting occurred in the Carboniferous to Permianand strike-slip faulting in the Permo-Triassic (Laurent-Charvet et al2002 2003 Shu et al 2002 Chen et al 2007) Plutons coeval withthe dextral strike-slip faulting in the Chinese Tianshan were datedat 261ndash254 Ma and the dextral strike-slip movements occurred be-tween 270 Ma and 245 Ma as documented by zircon and ArndashAr agedating (Wang et al 2008ab) Rapid cooling and tectonic exhumationat 240ndash220 Ma along the Eastern Tianshan did not affect the westernTianshan (Wang et al 2008ab)

Some high-grade rocks have Paleozoic isotopic ages (Shu et al1999 2002 2007 Shu and Wang 2003) Electron microprobe mona-zite data from Early Paleozoic granitoid gneisses in the Central Tian-shan have ages of 355plusmn12 Ma and 323plusmn7 Ma (Li et al 2008)Electron microprobe dating of monazite from two metasedimentaryrock samples north of Kumishi yielded 341plusmn39 Ma and 2552plusmn33 Ma respectively (Dang et al 2004) The metamorphic age ofthese rocks is unknown but could have been as young as Permianas a schist in the Xingxingxia complex has a ThPbndashUPb monaziteage of 282plusmn9 Ma (Li et al 2008)

A mineralized granitic porphyry from copper polymetallic depositsat Sanchakou south of Huangshan has a SHRIMP zircon age of 278plusmn4 Ma (Li et al 1998) More importantly the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfidedeposit that occurs within an Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexlocated south of the AqikkudukndashWeiya fault in the eastern part ofthe Chinese Tianshan has zircon crystallization ages of 285plusmn10Maon quartz diorite 284plusmn9 Ma on gabbroic diorite and 284plusmn8Ma ongabbroic rocks (SHRIMP data by Wu et al 2005) and of 2812plusmn09 Ma on a mineralized gabbro (La-ICP-MS data of Mao et al 2006)Mao et al (2006) suggested that the parental magma of the BaishiquanCundashNi sulfide deposit was contaminated by subduction-related arccomponents during ascent andor emplacement (Chai et al 2008)Some basaltic andesites from Aiweiergou previously assigned asDevonian have late Permian ages of 272plusmn4 Ma and 250plusmn5 Ma(Yang et al 2006) The above isotopic data indicate the presence of aPermian subduction event in the eastern Tianshan The Late Permiansubduction of oceanic crust is supported by a recent detrital zirconstudy from the Tekes River drainage basin in the southern Tianshanby Ren et al (2011) who found that the youngest of nearly 500 zirconsanalyzed from modern stream sediments was 268 Ma ie just into theearliest Late Permian

We conclude that the Central Tianshan arc was mostly an inde-pendent Japan-type intra-oceanic arc that evolved from the mid-Paleozoic to the Permian The North Tianshan meacutelange is part of anaccretionary complex on top of which the Danahu arc was built(Allen et al 1993b)

332 Northern Ili arcThe Northern Ili magmatic arc located to the west of the city of

Urumqi has a triangular-shape that becomes narrower eastwardsinto the Chinese Tianshan orogen (Figs 5 and 6) Its main compo-nents include Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic high-grade meta-morphic rocks late Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic passivemargin sediments late OrdovicianndashSilurian granites and Devonianto Carboniferousndashearly Permian volcanic and clastic sedimentaryrocks

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

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Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

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Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

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Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

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Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

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Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 9: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1324 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Along the northern Chinese Tianshan volcanic rocks mainly con-sist of trachytes basalts and trachy-andesites the age and tectonicsetting of which are controversial Che et al (1994) suggested thatthey formed in a continental rift whereas Xia et al (2004) consideredthey were Carboniferous in age and probably products of a mantleplume Recent geochemical and geochronological investigationsrevealed that the rocks in Chinese Northern Ili are relics of a Devonianto late Carboniferous magmatic arc (Zhu et al 2005 2009a) A basaltand a trachy-andesite yielded zircon SHRIMP ages of 3537plusmn45 Maand 3128plusmn42 Ma respectively (Zhu et al 2005) In the westernTianshan volcanic activity began in the early Devonian and continuedinto the Carboniferous Red conglomerates and sandstones (with in-tercalations of felsic tuffs) contain middle Carboniferous brachiopods(Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Carboniferous arc-type adakitendashhigh-Mg andesitendashNb-enriched basaltic rocks occur in the ChineseTianshan (Wang et al 2007c) A high-Mg andesite from Axi (Fig 8)is geochemically similar to sanukitoids in the Cenozoic Setouchi vol-canic arc in southeastern Japan (Wang et al 2007c) These Carbonif-erous rocks have been interpreted to represent an arc produced byoceanic subduction the adakites being derived by partial melting ofsubducted young oceanic crust (Wang et al 2007c) or more specifi-cally by ridge subduction under a forearc as in Ecuador (Gutscher etal 2000 Bourdon et al 2003)

HTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHProcks in the South Tianshan which will be mentioned in a subsectionbelow (Li and Zhang 2004) have an earliest Permian protolith age(2985plusmn49 Ma) which should pre-date the HTLP metamorphism(Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) Therefore the HTLP meta-morphism is likely to have occurred in the Permian

In summary the Northern Ili arc is an Andean-type arc built on themargin of a Precambrian microcontinent mostly in the DevonianCarboniferous and early Permian The relationship between theNorthern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs is an open question whichshould be subjected to further study Based on the above-mentioneddifferences between the Northern Ili and Central Tianshan arcs andon their own characteristics we prefer that they were independentunits in the Paleo-Asian Ocean that were amalgamated either bystrike-slip faulting or oblique collision

4 South Tianshan Units

The so-called South Tianshan Units now represented mainly byvarious rocks between the KokshaalndashKumish fault and the SouthernTianshan ophiolitic meacutelange (Fig 4) and in Fig 5 by the AtbashyndashInylkchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault mark the former site ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean The South Tianshan Units separate the SouthTianshan from the Central or Middle Tianshan (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) In the Tianshan of Kyrgyzstan the South TianshanUnits are mainly named as the Turkestan suture containing the south-ern Fergana (Farghona) ophiolitic meacutelange (Burtman 1975 2006a2010 Brookfield 2000) Its western prolongation can be traced geo-physically under Cenozoic sediments to the Urals (Burtman 1975Brookfield 2000) and its eastern extension continues into China(Cai et al 1995 Gao et al 1995 1999 2009ab Chen et al 1999)

41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton there are ophioliticmeacutelanges (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004)The formerly termed Kumishi ophiolitic meacutelange zone includes ser-pentinized mantle peridotites cumulate serpentinites gabbros dia-base dikes pyroxene-bearing amphibolites pillow lavas tholeiitebasalts spilites keratophyres cherts meta-tuffs marbles carbonatesphosphate-bearing siliceous rocks turbidites gneisses and schists(Shu et al 2004) and contains corals and radiolaria of Silurian age(Che et al 1994)

At Yushugou the ophiolite has been metamorphosed to granulitefacies The geochemical data plot in the fields of island arc tholeiitevolcanic arc basalt and MORB+VAB suggesting that the protolithsprobably formed in a volcanic oceanic island arc (Shu et al 2004)Asymmetric ductile shears around pyroxenes in granulites and gab-bros indicate a strong ductile deformation

Glaucophane-bearing blueschists and high-pressure eclogiticbasic granulite relics occur in ophiolitic meacutelanges near TonghuashanKumishi and Kekesuhe (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al 1995 Liu andQian 2003) Blueschists in the South Tianshan in Xinjiang Chinahave KAr cooling ages of 345ndash350 Ma (Xiao et al 1994a Gao et al1995) but along strike in this belt in China coesite-bearingultrahigh-pressure eclogites contain zircons the rims of which havea mean age of c 319 Ma which is similar to a SmndashNd isochron ageof 319plusmn4 Ma of the HP assemblage of eclogites in Kyrgyzstan(Hegner et al 2010) thus 319 Ma is widely regarded as the best es-timate of the HP metamorphism (Gao et al 1999 Gao and Klemd2001 Klemd et al 2005 Su et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) Our com-ment is that the age of HP metamorphism has nothing to do withthe age of collision Thus a controversy has arisen concerning thetime of eclogite formation and exhumation compared with the timeof collision of the Tarim craton with the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex (Gao et al 2011)

The HPUHP rocks have N-MORB and OIB trace element signaturessuggesting that their protoliths formed in an ocean and were accretedin a trench subducted to high pressures and now occur in the south-ernmost meacutelange of the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Gao etal 1998 2009a Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007 Gao andKlemd 2003) The eclogites in western Tianshan are geochemicallysimilar to oceanic basalts such as MORB OIB and IAB (eg Ai et al2006 John et al 2008 van der Straaten et al 2008) For this reasonthey are usually considered as an UHP metamorphic product of theoceanic crust (Zhang et al 2008) Tectonically however they maybelong to the seacrust of backarc or arc-related basins rather thanthe oceanic crust typical in the Pacific Atlantic and Indian oceansThis is indicated by coexistence of eclogite protoliths with bothMORB- and IAB-like features of trace element geochemistry The eclo-gites have positive εNd(t) values of minus25 to 74 indicating that theirprotolith is the juvenile crust The schists have negative εNd(t) valuessuggesting their origin either from weathering of the Precambrianbasement in the Tarim Craton or Yili arc terrane These results areconsistent with those of Hegner et al (2010) who reported that eclo-gites in a meacutelange along-strike at Atbashi in southern Kyrgyzstanhave an εNd(t) value of ~+9 and geochemical data of an N-MORB pro-tolith The Atbashi ophiolitic meacutelange is unconformably overlain byunmetamorphosed latest Carboniferous limestones and a conglomer-ate bearing eclogite clasts Therefore at least in southern Kyrgyzstanthe UHP event was clearly late Carboniferous in age (Hegner et al2010) Previously some younger Permian ages were also reported(Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995)

Just along the northern boundary of the HP rocks in the southernChinese Tianshan on fault 3 in Fig 5 ophiolitic meacutelanges with an oce-anic island protolith are imbricated with blueschists (Yang et al2005) UHP metamorphic rocks in western Tianshan are primarilysedimentary cover of a backarc basin and its enclosed maficndashultra-mafic igneous rocks Exhumation of the high-density mafic UHP eclo-gites was achieved by the enclosure of low-density felsic schist andgneiss (Luuml et al 2008 Wei et al 2009) Therefore the coesite-bearing HPUHP rocks are an exhumed part of the South Tianshan ac-cretionary complex Cai et al (1995) suggested that Permo-TriassicArndashAr ages of large-scale ductile high-strain zones could be inter-preted to indicate formation of these associated HPUHP rocks on abackstop of the South Tianshan accretionary complex A mylonite im-mediately north of the UHPHP rocks yielded an ArndashAr plateau age of230plusmn8 Ma (Li and Cui 1994) which might record one uplift phaseon the backstop of the accretionary complex

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

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Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

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Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

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Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

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Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

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Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

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Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

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Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

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Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

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Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

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Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

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Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

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Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

Xiao XC Tang YQ 1991 Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of the CentralAsian Complex Megasuture Belt Beijing Science and Technology Press Beijing6ndash25 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 10: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

Fig 8 Field photos along the KuchendashDushanzi highway A and B Ophiolitic meacutelanges looking west Kule Lake shore hammer for scale C Pillow basalts looking east Kule Lakeshore pen for scale D Basalts and cherts looking northeast hammer for scale E S-vergent folds in cherts looking southeast the cliff is about 3 m high F Fold-thrust structuresin limestone looking northwest the cliff is about 60 m high G Fold-thrust structures in limestone looking northwest vehicle and scientist for scale and F Fold-thrust structures inlimestone looking southwest the cliff is about 50 m high

1325W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

42 Ophiolitic components

Other parts of the South Tianshan accretionary complex includesome ophiolitic meacutelanges that have not experienced HPUHP

metamorphism (Figs 8 and 9) These are randomly distributedalong the strike of the main tectonic belts in the southern SouthTianshan (Li and Cui 1994 Zhou et al 2001a Shu et al 2004 Maet al 2006 Wang et al 2011)

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

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Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

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Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

Windley BF Allen MB Zhang C Zhao ZY Wang GR 1990 Paleozoic accretionand Cenozoic redeformation of the Chinese Tien Shan Range Central Asia Geology18 128ndash131

Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 11: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

S

S S S

S

O 3

O 3

C 3 C 3

O 3 S

NChangawuzi Ophiolitic

ultramafic rock

Gneiss granitic gneiss Blueschist

Cleavage

Clay shale siltstone sandstone Chert Limestone Breccia conglomerate olistostrome Marble

Granite Rhyolitic porphyry Ophiolitic ultramafic rocksand melange Fault

Thrust fault

0 Km 8

Fig 9 The Changawuzi cross-sections of the Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Li et al2003) Section line is marked in Fig 6

1326 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

On the shore of Kule Lake on the DushanzindashKuche highway pillowlava gabbro and limestone blocks are included in a matrix of shearedcalcareous turbidites (Fig 8A B and C) The basalts and gabbros havethe geochemical signature of N-MORB and the gabbros have a zirconSHRIMP UndashPb age of 425plusmn8 Ma (Long et al 2006) Basalts are imbri-cated with red bedded cherts and siliceous mudstones (Fig 8Dand E) and the cherts contain Late Devonian to Early Carboniferousradiolaria (Liu et al 1996 Gao et al 1998 Shu et al 2007 Wanget al 2010) Charvet et al (2007) suggested that these red beddedcherts were deposited in an intracrustal basin but Alexeiev (2011)pointed out they were deposited on shallow-water clastic sedimentsand thus must have been deposited on a shallow water shelf Howev-er field evidence shows that the relationships between these chertsand the limestones are tectonic Even in the cherts many chevronand recumbent folds are tectonically juxtaposed against each otherby thrusts In our opinion these deep-water red-bedded cherts over-lain by black mudstones succeeded by clastic sediments have the hall-mark of ocean plate stratigraphy in which case it will be expectedthat these water-saturated sediments were imbricated in a trench incold water and thus bedding-plane thrusts will not be visiblebetween the lower cherts of one OPS package and the upper clasticsof the package below To us they are slices of imbricated sedimentsin a subductionndashaccretion complex like those at Inuyama in Japan(Matsuda and Isozaki 1991) elsewhere in the western Pacificaccreted orogens (Wakita and Metcalfe 2005) and extensively inmany parts of the Altaids (Safonova 2009) The ophiolitic meacutelangesare juxtaposed against coherent Paleozoic sedimentary rocks(Fig 8F G and H) and some foliated and gneissic granitoids and an-dalusitendashcordierite mica schists Just south of the ophiolitic meacutelangenear Kule Lake andalusitendashcordierite mica schists have a well-developed subvertical foliation and subhorizontal lineation (Lin etal 2009b) These metamorphic minerals and planar-linear structuralfabrics are related to Permian dextral strike-slip shearing (Lin et al2009b)

43 Other components

The main body of the Chinese South Tianshan accretionary collageis composed of imbricated late Ordovician limestones Silurian clasticsedimentary rocks Devonian limestones and Carboniferous clasticrocks (Figs 8ndash10) For nearly 50 km across strike the predominantstructural vergence of these rocks is towards the south ie consistentwith thrusting to the south

Some of these components have been regarded as passive marginsequence and from the Tarim Craton Some thick early Paleozoic lime-stones were quoted as evidence to show affinity of the Tarim marginThe evidence however is that these limestones were defined as EarlyPaleozoic On the one hand some late age constraints have beenfound and some of the limestones are actually Devonian in ageand more precise ages are needed On the other hand in the earlyPaleozoic all blocks in the Paleo-Asian Ocean including the Central

Tianshan and Tarim were located in the southern or intermediate po-sition in the Paleo-Asian Ocean What we emphasize here is the LatePaleozoic accretionary history and as the Permian Angaran fossilshave been defined in the Tianshan we postulate that the late Paleozo-ic sequence should be one part of the Tianshan

44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units

The facts that the south Tianshan units are composed of variouscomponents with different origins including high-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks which could have been deeplysubducted and ophiolitic meacutelanges and other components which canbe interpreted as off-scraped

There have been many different views about the evolution ofthese HPUHP rocks in South Tianshan based on detailed studies ofthe mineralogy metamorphism and geochronology but the lack ofknowledge about the field geology and structural relations has clearlycontributed to much of the misunderstanding One group of scientistshave interpreted the ages of these HPUHP rocks as syn-tectonic or asa result of amalgamation of many terranes or arc-collision (Charvet etal 2007 Wang et al 2011) thus dating collision of the Tarim Cratonwith the southern Siberian accretionary system to the north

Another group of scientists noted that these HPUHP rocks occuras blocks in the South Tianshan accretionary complex (Zhang et al2007 Xiao et al 2008) It is possible that UHP eclogites there weredetached from different depths of the slab and mixed on a meterscale within a subduction channel during exhumation (eg Klemdet al 2011) In this regard the HP and UHP continental terraneswould be the tectonic meacutelanges that occur together only due to exhu-mation but substantially underwent the subduction-zone metamor-phism of different pressures and temperatures (ie complex anddifferent PndashT trajectories) the formation of which should pre-datecollision of the Tarim Craton with the southern Siberian accretionarysystem to the north It is interesting to note that in an accretionarycomplex there can be many island arc rocks ophiolites sea floor sed-iments etc This is true for the Circum-Pacific accretionary complexesIn Greece subduction of the Mediterranean Sea caused a more com-plicated forearc accretionary complex in which some older continen-tal blocks can be found

Nevertheless more detailed multiple-disciplinary investigationsare required and particularly more information of the structuralfield relations before this eclogite saga of the South Tianshan isresolved

Therefore we interpret these units as backarc or arc-related se-quences in the Early Paleozoic and a forearc and accretionary complexin the Late Paleozoic (Xiao et al 2004b) No matter what tectonic sce-nario is proposed much of the above information points towards aLate CarboniferousndashPermian subductionndashaccretion event along theChinese South Tianshan (Zhang et al 2002ab 2003 2005a 2007Hegner et al 2010 Li et al 2011a) The Late CarboniferousndashPermianHTLP metamorphic rocks located to the north of the HPUHP rocks

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

Badarch G Orolmaa D 1998 Overview of the geology and tectonic evolution ofsouthern Mongolia Mongolian Geoscientist 10 10ndash16

Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

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Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

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Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

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Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

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Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

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1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 12: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

Fig 10 The Tielimaiti cross-section along the KuchendashDushanzi highway Chinese South Tianshan showing major tectonic assemblages and structures (modified after Li and Cui 1994 Gao et al 1998 Zhou et al 2001a Li et al 2003)Section line is marked in Fig 6

1327WX

iaoet

alGondw

anaResearch

23(2013)

1316ndash1341

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

Abrajevitch A Van der Voo R Levashova NM Bazhenov ML 2007 Paleomagneticconstraints on the paleogeography and oroclinal bending of the Devonian volcanicarc in Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 441 67ndash84

Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

Badarch G Orolmaa D 1998 Overview of the geology and tectonic evolution ofsouthern Mongolia Mongolian Geoscientist 10 10ndash16

Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

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Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

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Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

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Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

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Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

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Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 13: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1328 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

in China (Li and Zhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007) are consistent with asimilar age of PermianndashTriassic subduction-related collision (Li andZhang 2004 Zhang et al 2007)

5 The southern cratons

51 Tarim Craton

The Tarim Craton has a variably deformed and metamorphosedbasement of ArchaeanndashProterozoic to early Paleozoic rocks (XBGMR1993 Hu et al 2000 Huang et al 2005 Lu et al 2008 Long et al2010 2011) which are characterized by Archaean high-grade bimod-al tonalitendashtrondhjemitendashgranodiorite (TTG) gneisses and amphibo-lites and Proterozoic granitic gneisses that have Nd model ages(TDM) ranging from 32 to 22 Ga (Hu et al 2000)

Pulses of magmatic activity from ca 840 to 800 Ma and from ca790 to 740 Ma have been interpreted as episodes of rifting withinthe Tarim Craton in the Neoproterozoic (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng etal 2010 Shu et al 2011a)

On the northern margin of the Tarim Craton high-pressure schistsat Aksu have KndashAr ages on glaucophane of 718plusmn22 Ma and 710plusmn21 Ma and RbndashSr ages on phengite of 698plusmn26 Ma and 714plusmn24 Ma(Nakajima et al 1990) Geochemical and SrndashNd data of metabasaltsindicate that their protolith was enriched ocean ridge basalt(EMORB) (Zhu et al 2008 Zheng et al 2010) A SmndashNd isochronprotolith age of 890plusmn23 Ma suggests the presence of a Neoprotero-zoic ocean on the northwestern margin of Rodinia (Zhu et al 2008Zheng et al 2010)

Mafic dykes of 650ndash630 Ma age in the Korla region on the north-ern margin of the Tarim Craton represent the youngest known igne-ous activity associated with rifting in Tarim (Zhu et al 2008 Zhenget al 2010) Later the northern Tarim craton was a stable marineplatform with continental rifts developed in Precambrian continentalbasement which received a major clastic input (Graham et al 1993Carroll et al 1995)

Sinian through Permian sedimentary rocks crop out in the Kelping(Kalpin) and Bachu areas along the Chinese Tianshan in the west(Carroll et al 2001) The Upper Sinian sediments are composed oflimestones with chert-nodules dolomites and banded marblesThese are overlain by Cambrian fossiliferous sandstones limestonesand bandedmarbles and by Ordovician carbonates sandstones mud-stones and basic tuffs (Shu et al 2004) A sharp unconformity sepa-rates Middle Ordovician carbonates from Lower Silurian shallowmarine clastic sediments in the northwestern Tarim Basin (Carrollet al 2001) These rocks are at the base of a SilurianndashDevonian mega-sequence itself terminated by an angular unconformity that sepa-rates Devonian coastal sandstones from Upper Carboniferouscarbonate beach deposits of the Sisichang and Kangkelin formationsand their equivalents Overlying Permian sediments broadly coarsenupwards and become non-marine An important provenance switchby the time of the Lower Permian Kupukziman Formation broughtsediment from the WNW ie the Tianshan was sub-aerially emergentby this time (Carroll et al 2001) Large-scale southward thrusting oc-curs along the northern margin of the Tarim Craton which forms theimbricated Kelpingtag thrust belt (Allen et al 1999)

Along the Chinese Tianshan in the east some early Carboniferousbrachiopods and corals have been found in previously defined EarlyProterozoic rocks (Liao et al 1990 2003) Therefore the easternpart of the northern margin of the Tarim Carton remained a marineenvironment till the early Carboniferous until it underwent strongdeformation and metamorphism in the Permian

52 Karakum Craton

The Karakum Craton contains Proterozoic metapelites (plagioclase-bearing gneisses schists and migmatites) with a tectonic thickness of

about 9 km and KndashAr ages of 1200ndash1400 Ma and zircon ages of700ndash1200 Ma (Mitrofanov 1982 Volkova and Budanov 1999)

The Proterozoic basement of the Karakum micocontinent wasprobably rifted at the end of the Neoproterozoic when basalts withalkali and tholeiitic compositions were extruded (Volkova andBudanov 1999 Biske and Seltmann 2010) Some of these basaltswere considered to be of seamount and MORB origin and were lateraccreted to the Karakum continent (Biske and Seltmann 2010)

A Paleozoic shelf cover sequence was deposited on the Karakumcontinent between the Late Ordovician and the Early Carboniferousit consists of quartz sandstones dolomites limestones and subordi-nate cherts (Biske and Seltmann 2010) Carboniferous volcanic arcrocks up to 2000 m thick rest unconformably on Precambrian andearly Paleozoic metamorphic rocks and granites (Brookfield 2000)Rhyolitic dacitic and andesitic lavas and tuffs are intercalated withconglomerates sandstones and limestones that contain Visean andSurpukhovian brachiopods foraminifera and corals (Burtman1975 Brookfield 2000) Overlying are trachybasalts dacites andes-ites tuffs cherts mudstones sandstones and limestones Felsic tuffsare intercalated with clastic sediments and limestones with earlyMoscovian brachiopods and foraminifera (Baratov and Cherner1976 Afonichev and Vlasov 1984) Finally this Craton was intrudedby Late Permian granites (Heubeck 2001 Konopelko et al 2007Seltmann et al 2011)

53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim andKarakum Cratons

Graham et al (1993) and Carroll et al (1995) proposed that thenorthern margin of the Tarim Craton was a north-facing passive mar-gin in the late Paleozoic but other researchers (Chen et al 1999Charvet et al 2007 Lin et al 2009a) suggested that this marginwas characterized by an active south-dipping subducting zone atthat time However in the eastern Chinese Tianshan the situationmay be more complicated because both S-dipping and N-dipping sub-duction zones have been proposed (Xiao et al 2004c 2010abc Zhuet al 2009b)

There has been speculation about correlations between thePrecambrian cratons The connection of the Karakum Craton to theTarim Craton is not generally accepted However it has been sug-gested that they may have been mutually connected by a transformfault via the Tajikstan terrane or were they were separate and inde-pendent (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011) Burtman (20082010) thought that Tarim was connected to the Alay block andBiske and Seltmann (2010) suggested that the Karakum craton wasconnected to the Tajik continent The western part of the TarimCraton was mainly covered by passive margin sediments during mostof Paleozoic time (Biske and Seltmann 2010) However the easternpart may have been an active margin in the Paleozoic (Xiao et al2004c 2010abc Zhu et al 2009b) The northern side of the KarakumCratonmay have been a passive margin but later evolved into an activemargin during the Paleozoic (Heubeck 2001 Seltmann et al 2011)

6 Discussion

The data summarized in Sections 4 and 5 suggest that in order tocreate the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage several amalgamationevents created the Nananhu arc in the north and the Northern Ili-Central Tianshan arc in the middle before terminal collision of theTarim and Kurakum Cratons in the south This scenario is actually insome respects similar to arcndashcontinent collision (Zheng et al 2009in press Glen et al 2011)

Although there is not much controversy about the southward sub-duction polarity of the North Tianshan Ocean Allen et al (1993b)proposed that the northern Tianshanmeacutelanges could have been relat-ed to a northward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc However as

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

Abrajevitch A Van der Voo R Levashova NM Bazhenov ML 2007 Paleomagneticconstraints on the paleogeography and oroclinal bending of the Devonian volcanicarc in Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 441 67ndash84

Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

Badarch G Orolmaa D 1998 Overview of the geology and tectonic evolution ofsouthern Mongolia Mongolian Geoscientist 10 10ndash16

Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

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Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

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Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

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Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

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Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

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Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

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Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 14: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1329W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

we mentioned before we postulate that only the eastern part of thenorthern Tianshan meacutelanges could have been related to the north-ward subduction beneath the Dananhu arc (Xiao et al 2004c) andin the western part there was southward subduction beneath theNorthern Ili arc

The Paleozoic tectonic framework of the Chinese South Tianshan ischaracterized in the South Tianshan by the KokshaalndashKumishi accre-tionary complex that separates the Tarim and Karakum Cratonsfrom the Central Tianshan (Figs 2 3 and 5) (Xiao et al 2004c2010abc) But the final time of amalgamation the subduction polar-ity of the ancient South Tianshan Ocean and the geometry of the tec-tonic components are subjects of much controversy which has led tomany diverse tectonic models

In the following we first discuss the geometry and the temporalndashspatial constraints of the South Tianshan accretionary complex fol-lowed by a new reconstruction for the Tianshan orogenic collage

61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complexand associated subduction polarities

The South Tianshan Units have continuous exposure from beyondthe Ferghana fault in Kyrgyzstan to Xinjiang in China and thus are theeasiest of the three belts to correlate along strike through the severalcountries (Figs 2ndash4) In NW China these belts and the suture zone onits southern side extend eastwards to the Solonker orogen and suturezone in Inner Mongolia in China (Badarch and Orolmaa 1998Badarch et al 2002 Wu et al 2002 Xiao et al 2003 2009b Wildeet al 2009 Zhou et al 2009)

Probably the biggest controversy today in the Tianshan concernsthe polarity of the subduction zones on either side of the SouthTianshan belt that is along the Nikolaev LinendashNorth Nalatic Faulton the southern side of the Central TianshanndashIli block and on theNorth Tarim Fault (Fig 5) The Nikolaeav Line and the Atbashi Faultgradually merge farther east In Kyrgyzstan geological data in theSouth Tianshan belt near Atbashi indicate northward-dipping sub-duction (top-to-the-south thrusting on north-dipping thrusts south-ward propagation of thrusts with time (late Bashkirian to EarlyPermian) and a Late Carboniferous volcanic arc north of the thrustbelt (Hegner et al 2010 and references therein) In NW Chinamany workers have observed that a Late Silurian to Early Carbonifer-ous magmatic arc the Narat arc is situated to the north of the AtbashiFault and that there is no coeval calc-alkaline magmatic arc to thesouth in the South Tianshan belt and consequently they have con-cluded that the subduction zone dipped to the north (Allen et al1993b Gao et al 1998 Chen et al 1999 Zhou et al 2001ab)

In contrast Charvet et al (2007 2011) Wang et al (2008a) andLin et al (2009a) concluded from their studies in the South Tianshanof NW China that the subduction zones sited on the northern andsouthern sides of the South Tianshan belt dipped to the south Thispolarity was based on the belief that ldquogenerally in orogens thelower plate is more strongly deformed than the upper platerdquo (Lin etal 2009a) Although this may be true of continentndashcontinent oro-gens like the Himalaya the South Tianshan is well-accepted by allworkers as a subductionndashaccretion orogen the modern analogs ofwhich like the Japanese Islands demonstrate that the deformationis concentrated in the upper plate Accretion and continentalndasharc col-lision between Eurasia and the Luzon Arc could be another modernanalogue where deformation and metamorphism occur exactly inthe lower plate (Eurasia Plate) and nothing is deformed in theupper plate (Luzon arc) Therefore we are entirely skeptical of thesouthward-dipping subduction zone model based on such a biasedtectonic premise

Nevertheless for this paper it is important to discuss the geometryand structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associ-ated subduction polarities

The northern part of the suture zone contains a subductionndashaccretioncomplex that includes rocks ranging from Vendian to CarboniferousndashPermian age and meacutelanges that contain lenses of VendianndashCambrianophiolitic rocks blueschists and early to late Paleozoic ophiolitic andarc volcanic rocks The suture meacutelange contains eclogites which atAtbashi in Kyrgyzstan have a whole-rock RbndashSr isochron age of 275 Ma(early Permian) (Tagiri and Bakirov 1990 Tagiri et al 1995) and aSmndashNd isochron age of 319plusmn4Ma (Hegner et al 2010) Along strikeeclogites in China contain of early to mid-Carboniferous zircons (Li etal 2011) and 230ndash220 zircon ages (Zhang et al 2007) The youngestsediments in this accretionary complex contain late Permian radiolarianfossils (Li et al 2005)

At Atbashi conglomerates sandstones and limestones with upper-most Carboniferous Fusulinida rest unconformably on the HP rockswhich indicate that the HP rocks were exhumed to the surface at thistime (Hegner et al 2010) However we think it is a mistake to proposethat these are post-collisional sediments indicating thereby that oceanclosure and final plate collision was terminated by the end of the Car-boniferous because we know that in comparable accretionary orogenslike Japan that thrusted accretionary prismUpperMiocene forearc sed-iments are unconformably overlain by Pliocene undeformed clasticsediments that were deposited in trench-slopefill basins (Yamamotoand Kawakami 2005 Yamamoto et al 2005) and similar Quarternaryunconformable trench-fill basins are imaged on top of the extantNankaiaccretionary wedge (Ienaga et al 2006) In the South Tianshan inwest-ern China pre-Carboniferous thrusted accretionary rocks are overlainunconformably by small Lower Carboniferous basins containing locallyderived nonmarine conglomerates overlain by paralic and shelf silici-clastic and carbonate sediments which were interpreted by Carroll etal (1995) as the initial fill of a foreland basin created as a result of load-ing caused by south-vergent thrusts (see also Zhou et al 2001) Thepoint that we wish to emphasize is that the formation of accretionarywedges and of exhumed wedges of HPUHP rocks may take placewhen there is still an extensive oceanic plate yet to be consumed anda long time before the arrival of any continent and final collision Athrusted accretionary wedge orogen will be overlain by its own trenchslope basins and by its own forearc basins long before continental colli-sion butwill not be overlain by foreland basinswhich should be locatedon the subducted continent in this case the Kepingtag of the northernTarim Craton

The peak metamorphic age of the HPUHP rocks in SW Tianshanhas been well dated at c 319 Ma (eg Hegner et al 2010 Li et al2011b) The protolith of the HPUHP rocks is usually described as oce-anic seamount andor minor accretionary prism although recentlyGao Jun (personal communication 2011) has reported that thecores of some zircons consist of Archean old continental materialwhich is to be expected in view of the fact and consistent with thefact that UHP coesite-bearing eclogites worldwide result from sub-duction of continental slabs Most UndashPb ages of residued zirconcores in the eclogites vary from 420 to 500 Ma with some Precambri-an UndashPb ages This suggests that eclogite protoliths were mainlyformed by backarc rift magmatism in the Early Paleozoic with a fewadditions of detrital sediments from the Precambrian basement

We emphasize the fact that the fundamental structure in the SWTianshan is characterized by the emplacement of HPUHP rocks overan accretionary complex tectonically located along the southernmargin of the Yili-Central Tianshan arc in the Late Paleozoic These se-quences may have turned into a forearc accretionary complex due tonorthward subduction of the South Tianshan ocean plate Thereforeall these ages are related to the subduction of the South Tianshanocean plate instead of the collision of the Tarim craton These agesmust necessarily pre-date the collision of the Tarim craton This sce-nario is consistent with recent geochronological and tectonostrati-graphic studies in which Caledonian (sim440ndash410 Ma) and Hercynian(sim310ndash280 Ma) zircon UPb ages were found at the edge of theSouth Tianshan suture related to subduction and closure of the

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

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Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

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Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

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Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

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Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

Windley BF Allen MB Zhang C Zhao ZY Wang GR 1990 Paleozoic accretionand Cenozoic redeformation of the Chinese Tien Shan Range Central Asia Geology18 128ndash131

Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 15: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1330 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Turkestan Ocean and the formation of the suture itself (Glorie et al2011) PermianndashTriassic (sim280ndash210 Ma) titanite fission track and zir-con (UndashTh)He data record the first signs of exhumation when theSouth Tianshan suture evolved into a shear zone and the adjacentTarim basin started to subside (Glorie et al 2011)

In order to define the framework of the South Tianshan accretion-ary complex it is useful to locate the southernmost and northernmostboundaries from several geophysical profiles across the Tianshan(Figs 3 and 11) (Xiao et al 2004d Alekseev et al 2007 2008Makarov et al 2010)

The northern boundary fault is the AtbashyndashInylchekndashSouth NalatindashQawabulak fault (Fig 5) or AtbashindashInylchek (South Nalati Shan) Fault(Fig 11) In Kyrgyzstan the southern boundary of the Naryn Basin ismarked by the AtbashindashInylchek Fault which may correlate with theSouth Nalati Shan Fault and Qawabulak Fault in China (Wang et al1994) However several major shear zones appear to merge and anas-tomose near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border and it is unlikely that thereare two narrow independent coeval suture zones which are only afew kilometers apart for hundreds of kilometers along strike

So where is the southernmost boundary of the accretionary com-plex This is controversial The Kipchak Fault (see Fig 11) wasregarded as the southernmost boundary of the allochthonous ter-ranes in the South Tianshan accretionary complex and those rocksbetween the Kipchak and Muzduk Faults were defined as sedimenta-ry rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton(Alekseev et al 2007 2008 Makarov et al 2010) According toZhou et al (2001a) and Gao et al (2009a) the rocks south of theAtbashindashInylchekndashSouth Nalati Shan Fault belong to the northerncontinental margin of the Tarim Craton However both these ideasor correlations neglect the fact that many ophiolitic meacutelanges accre-tionary rocks and coherent units occur south of the Kipchak andMuzduk faults within the South Tianshan accretionary complexTherefore it is unlikely that either the Kipchak fault or Muzduk faultis the southernmost boundary of the accretionary complex

On the other hand the Kepingtag foreland thrust belt containscarbonate-dominated sediments that belonged to the shelf of theTarim Craton (Allen et al 1999) (Fig 11) Therefore we are in a

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

KZ

kmS

Basement ofTarim

(ARndashPR1)

Thrusted sedimentary rocks of shelf and inner regions of Tarim

(PR2ndashPZ)

Accretionary co Kepingtag thrust belt South Tianshan (PZ

Late CenozoicUnderthrusting Zone in

the Tarim Block

MOHO

Muzduk Fault Kipchak Fault

Cryptic suture

Fig 11 Combined geological and geophysical cross-section showing the tectonic units and zmodified after Makarov et al 2010) The Muzduk Fault is roughly connected with the Norinterpretation of the South Tianshan accretionary complex is our own and this is not the samet al (2007 2008) who interpreted the rock sequence between Kipchak and Muzduk faultsonly those sequences south of the Muzdu fault (Cryptic suture) ie the Kepingtag thrust seqSee text for explanation

good position to define the Muzduk fault as the most likely southern-most boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary complex

We recognize that the AtbashindashInylchek Fault forms the backstopthus the northernmost boundary and the Muzduk fault is probablythe southernmost boundary of the South Tianshan accretionary com-plex The actual suture zone could be cryptic and thus lies at the baseof the accretionary complex (Fig 11) because the whole accretionarycomplex belongs to the hanging-wall of the subduction system Whatis called the Turkestan suture in the literature is the backstop of thishuge accretionary complex All the different meacutelanges and assem-blages in the accretionary complex do not represent the suture zonebetween the Tarim craton and the Northern Ili arc instead theirsouthernmost boundary defines the real separation between theTarim craton and the already accreted Northern Ili arc an essentialgeometry generally proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Therefore the distribution of an arc (Northern Ili arc) in the northan accretionary complex (South Tianshan accretionary complex) inthe middle and a passive margin (Kepingtag part of the northernmargin of the Tarim craton) in the south together with the geometryand structures of the South Tianshan accretionary complex all pro-vide robust constraints that the pre-Carboniferous subduction polari-ty was to the north Some workers have proposed a southwardsubduction polarity for the South Tianshan ocean(s) beneath theTarim craton mostly based on northward kinematics along someductile faults associated with ophiolitic meacutelanges for instance the ki-nematic indicators in the Yushugou area that were interpreted to in-dicate northward movement (Charvet et al 2007 2011 Wang et al2007a 2011 Lin et al 2009a) However we observed that the majorkinematic polarity in the Yushugou area was southward (Allen et al1993ab Xiao et al 2004c) As discussed above the meacutelanges of theSouth Tianshan are mostly off-scraped fragments ultimately derivedfrom a subducting oceanic plate Rather than considering these asremnants of an accretionary event we suggest that it would be usefulto consider the meacutelanges and their structures as the result of exhu-mation because there are many well-documented means of exhum-ing and emplacing meacutelanges in which arc-ward movements arecommon (Wakabayashi and Dilek 2000)

50 km

0

ndash10

ndash20

ndash30

ndash40

ndash50

ndash60

Basement of

KZC2 1

mplex Ili-Central Tianshan Arc-T)

Naryn Basin

kmN

Late PaleozoicUnderthrusting Zone of

Tarim beneathKazakhstan

the Kazakh continentAR() PR and PZ)

At-Bashy-Inycheck Fault

Backstop

onation of the South Tianshan near the ChinandashKyrgyzstan border (geophysical section isth Tarim Fault marked in Fig 5 Section line is marked in Fig 2 Note that the tectonice as the origional ones in Makarov et al (2010) mainly based on the work of Alekseev

as sedimentary rocks of continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton We propose thatuence belong to sedimentary rocks of the continental slope and rise of the Tarim Craton

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

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Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

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Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

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Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

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Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

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Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

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Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

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Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

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Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

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Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

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Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

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Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

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Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

Xiao XC Tang YQ 1991 Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of the CentralAsian Complex Megasuture Belt Beijing Science and Technology Press Beijing6ndash25 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 16: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1331W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation

Palaeogeographic and fossil evidence (Su 1981 Dewey et al1988 Smith 1988 Hou and Boucot 1990 Nie et al 1990Smethurst et al 1998) shows that the South Tianshan constitutes amajor biogeographic boundary between the Angaran and Cathaysianflora (Fig 12)

Angaran floral fossils of Carboniferous (Li et al 2004c) andPermian (Dewey et al 1988 Guo 2000) ages in rocks in the EastChinese Central Tianshan indicate that they were originally part of (ornot far from) the Siberian craton Therefore the major biogeographicboundary was the South Tianshan (KokshaalndashKumishi) accretionarycomplex the most important tectonic and biogeographic boundary ofwhich was at the base (Ouyang et al 1993 Wang et al 1995 Zhangand Wang 1996 Zhou et al 1998 Liao and Liu 2003) The fact thatphytoprovincial features of CarboniferousndashPermian palynoflora andflora in northern Xinjiang are mainly related to the Angaran domain(Ouyang et al 1993 Zhu 1997ab Zhou et al 1998) should not betaken as evidence of welding of the Tarim Craton to the accretionaryunits to the north This is because this idea is based on the assumptionthat the suture is located along the many ophiolitic meacutelanges but thisis not the real suture The real suture should be cryptic under or onthe south side the South Tianshan accretionary complex as mentionedabove Therefore the data indicate that all the rock assemblages northof this cryptic suture should be related to the Angaran domain whichleads to a reasonable conclusion that the Tarim Craton could havebeen far from the Angaran domain Therefore we have good reason topostulate that the Tarim Craton was separated by a marine seawayfrom the accretionary units to the north during or even after thePermian (Xiao et al 2008 2009b 2010c)

A final question arises what was the time of the collision Thereare many different views about the final phases of the Tianshan orog-eny including Latest Silurian to Devonian (Yue et al 2001) middle tolate Devonian (Tang 1990) late Devonian to early Carboniferous(Graham et al 1990 1993) late Permian (Ruzhentsev et al 1989)or PermianndashTriassic (Zhang et al 1984 2007 Xiao et al 2009b)

Cross-border correlations of the KokshaalndashKumishi (South Tian-shan) accretionary complex indicate a general southward and ocean-ward accretion from the early Paleozoic to PermianndashEarly Triassic asrecorded by the juxtaposition of ophiolites slices of ophioliticmeacutelangescherts island arcs olistostromes blueschists and turbidites which aremainly Paleozoic in age with the youngest being late PermianndashTriassic(Table 1) Therefore the timing of terminal collision can be stated as latePermianndashTriassic (Fig 13)

TIANSHANTIANSHAN

BOGBOGDA SHANA SHAN

TIANSHAN

BOGDA SHAN

Turpan Basinpan Basin

QaQa

Urumqiumqi

SONGSONGPAN-GAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

EAST KUNLUN

Turpan Basin

Qa

Urumqi

SONGPAN-G

EAST KUNLUN

SOSOSOSO

TARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATONTARIM CRATON

80E

40N

90E

80E 90E

Other suture zone

Tianshan-Solonker suture zone

Major strike-slip faultAngaran floraMixed floraNorth China flora

SoutheSouthern limit of the Angan limit of the Angaran floan flora

NoNorthethern limit of the Non limit of the North China floth China flora

Southern limit of the Angaran flora

Northern limit of the North China flora

Fig 12 Distribution of Angaran and Cathaysian flora related to the South Tiansha

Northward-dipping Paleozoic subduction took place under theChinese Central Tianshan leading to the TarimndashCentral Tianshan con-tinental collision this has a poorly constrained initial age Along thehuge length of the Tianshan orogenic collage the initial collisionaltimes could have been different and diachronous but generally be-coming younger westwards (Chen et al 1999 Xiao et al 2004c)Chen et al (1999) proposed that collision of the IlindashCentral Tianshanunit with the eastern segment of the Tarim continent was in theLate Devonian Although not emphasizing the along-strike diachrone-ity Charvet et al (2007) also suggested that the collisional event thatwelded the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan occurred in theLate Devonian or during the Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous

Devonian collision was suggested on the basis of ophioliticmeacutelanges of DevonianndashCarboniferous age (Charvet et al 2007Wang et al 2007ab 2011) Clearly these authors interpreted theDevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges as syn-collisional prod-ucts because the DevonianndashCarboniferous ophiolitic meacutelanges wereused as syn- or post-criteria of a so-called Devonian collision Howev-er we find that these key criteria are not definitive usually becausethe formation of ophiolitic meacutelanges in accretionary orogens pre-dates the collision event This problem in the Tianshan is exacerbatedby the fact that arc magmatism along the Tianshan mountain rangescommonly seems to have begun in the DevonianndashCarboniferouswhereas the youngest components in the accretionary complex areas young as Late Carboniferous to Early Permian

The presence of subduction-related Late Carboniferous and LatePermian magmatism (Chen et al 1999 Zhu et al 2005 2009a Renet al 2011) Late Permian radiolarian cherts and pre-collisionalLate Carboniferous HPUHP rocks in the South Tianshan accretionarycomplex suggests that subduction was active in the Late Carboniferousto Permian In which case these relations do not support the idea of anearlier collision in the late Devonian and point to a later amalgamationevent in the Permian

Therefore it is likely that collision between the Tarim Craton and thenorthern accretionary systems occurred in the Late CarboniferousndashPermian in the east and the Paleo-Asian Ocean closed progressivelywestwards This is consistent with the CarboniferousndashPermian biostra-tigraphy which suggests that along the Chinese South Tianshan seawater retreated earlier in the Late Carboniferous in the east and laterin the Early Permian in the west (Liao et al 2003)

Considering the fact that large-scale thrusting occurred in thePermian and strike-slip faulting in the PermianndashTriassic (Charvet etal 2007 Chen et al 2007) together with the fact that all deforma-tion along the Chinese South Tianshan ceased in the late Triassic

BEISHANBEISHANBEISHAN

XiningXiningXining

QILIAN SHAN

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

idam basin

ANZIANZI TERRANETERRANE

QILIAN SHAN

idam basin

ANZI TERRANE

UTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDSUTHERN ALTAIDS

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

NONORTHTHCHINACHINA

CRCRATONON

40N

100E

100E

200km

n collage and suture zone (modified after Dewey et al 1988 Searle 1991)

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

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Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

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Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

Windley BF Allen MB Zhang C Zhao ZY Wang GR 1990 Paleozoic accretionand Cenozoic redeformation of the Chinese Tien Shan Range Central Asia Geology18 128ndash131

Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

Xiao XC Tang YQ 1991 Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of the CentralAsian Complex Megasuture Belt Beijing Science and Technology Press Beijing6ndash25 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 17: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

Table 1Key youngest age constraints of the Tianshan orogenic collage

Tectonic units Rocks Method Age (Ma) Youngest age (Ma) component References

IlindashCentral Tianshan arc Trachy-andesite SHRIMP 3128plusmn42 293 (Zhu et al 2005)High-temperature granulite SHRIMP 299plusmn5 (Li and Zhang 2004)

Southern Tianshan accretionary complex Blueschist 40Ar39Ar 315plusmn2 Ma (Gao et al 1995)Blueschist RbndashSr KndashAr 310ndash311 Ma ca 302 (RbndashSr) (Klemd et al 2005)

ca 296 (KndashAr)Eclogite SHRIMP 233plusmn4 226plusmn46 (Zhang et al 2007)

226plusmn46234plusmn7

Chert Radiolaria CarboniferousndashLate Permian (Li et al 2005)Alaskan-type complex Gabbro SHRIMP 285plusmn1 (Qin 2000)

Gabbro SHRIMP 269plusmn2 (Zhou et al 2004)Gabbro SHRIMP 284plusmn8 (Wu et al 2005)Gabbro LA-ICP-MS 281plusmn1 (Mao et al 2006)Olivine gabbro LA-ICP-MS 2818plusmn16 (Ao et al 2010)

1332 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

(Gao et al 1998 Zhang et al 2007) the very final accretionary andcollisional orogenesis of the Chinese Tianshan was in the mid-Triassic (Xiao et al 2009b 2010ab)

This interpretation resolves the dispute over the age of collision byemphasizing that it probably lasted for tens of millions of years in themanner of the Cenozoic ArabiandashEurasia and IndiandashEurasia collisions

From their sedimentological-tectonic studies Carroll et al (19952001) concluded that the Early Permian was the most likely timewhen the Tianshan orogen become largely sub-aerial and clastic sed-iments were shed southwards onto Tarim and therefore that the timeof collision was in the Early Permian This is consistent with the detri-tal zircon evidence presented by Ren et al (2011)

Paleomagnetic data reveal that between the Devonian and LateCarboniferous Tarim moved 18deg northwards and rotated clockwiseby a large angle (Li et al 1989 Sharps et al 1989 Alexyutin et al2005) By the late Carboniferous the Tarim Craton had reached

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Age (Ma)

Post-collisional

Post-

Subduction-related

Back arcextension

Triassic thermal eventas indicated to beunderestimated

by Seltmann et al (2011)

Late Permian to earliest Late Triassic(Tong et al 2010 Li et al 2010)

Late Permian to mid-TriassicTermination event

of the Southern Altaids

selp

mas fo r e

bm

uN

Previously defined collisional eventbetween Tarim Craton and Tianshan arcs

(Seltmann et al 2011)

150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500 550 600

Subduction-related

collisional

Neoproterozoic to PaleozoNeoproterozoic to Paleozoicicarc-arc collisional eventsarc-arc collisional events

Neoproterozoic to Paleozoicarc-arc collisional events

Fig 13 Schematic histogram of granitoids of the Tianshan collage (modified after Biskeand Seltmann 2010 Li et al 2010 Tong et al 2010 Seltmann et al 2011) The large-scale Late Permian to earliest Triassic peak of thermal events (Li et al 2010 Tong et al2010) might be an indicator of the termination of events in the Late Permian to mid-Triassic (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c) See text for discussion

roughly the same latitude and orientation as it had at the Permo-Triassic boundary (Li et al 1989 Li 1990) This idea has been usedto propose an earlier (pre-Late Carboniferous) collision (Han et al2010ab 2011) However recent reconstructions (Xiao et al 2010abc) show that in the Late CarboniferousndashEarly Permian both Tarimand the southern margin of Eurasia (in our case the western compos-ite arc terrane) were oriented SWndashNE suggesting that in the LateCarboniferous to Permian if an ocean still existed between themthey should not have been separated by a major latitudinal difference(Xiao et al 2009ab 2010c) That is to say the similar Late Carbonif-erous latitudes do not necessarily mean welding of the Tarim Cratonto the Kazakhstan composite terrane A remnant ocean may havestill existed in the BalkashndashJunggar region in a manner similar tothat of the present-day Mediterranean Sea (Figs 14 and 15) (Xiaoet al 2009ab 2010c)

Some unconformities were interpreted to record collision be-tween the Tarim Craton and the tectonic units to the north eg theUpper CarboniferousLower Permian Sishichang and Kangkelin For-mations rest unconformably on gently folded Upper Devonian sedi-ments (XBGMR 1993) The collision along the northern margin ofthe Tarim Craton was suggested to have been diachronous (Windleyet al 1990) from east to west (present co-ordinates) This could bethe case if the unconformities marked the end of any collisional oro-genesis Unfortunately there is no robust chronological evidence ofthe regional extent of this unconformity Lower Carboniferous sedi-ments are missing over much of this area The suggestion that colli-sion began in the late Devonian is incompatible with the existenceof latest CarboniferousndashPermian arcs early to middle PermianAlaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes late Permian deep-watercherts and a PermianndashTriassic HP to UHP metamorphic belt alongthe Tianshan Mountains (Table 1) The angular unconformity be-tween Devonian and Lower Carboniferous sediments in Kyrgyzstan(Burtman 1975) can be reconciled by a scenario in which Carbonifer-ous forearc basins developed on the Devonian accretionary prism orarcs

Permian plutons are assigned as syn- or post-tectonic which seemto be contradicted with the PermianndashTraissic termination We allagree that in a collisional orogen post-tectonic Permian granitoid plu-tonismmay have post-dated collision by up to 50ndash80 Ma The idea weuse here is that the Tianshan is not strictly a collisional orogen be-tween Tarim and the Central Tianshan Instead the Tianshan is onecollage of a huge accretionary orogenic system called the Altaids orCentral Asian Orogenic Belt in which there are many components in-volved in the orogeny instead of just two rigid continental blocks as inthe Himalayas Also there are many syn- and post-tectonic graniticrocks in the present-day Cordilleras which cannot be used to dateany closure event of the Pacific Ocean Therefore we propose thatthese rocks are not diagnostic evidence for termination of the Paleo-Asian Ocean

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

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Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

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Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 18: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

A Pre-closure

B Post-closure

ophioliticmelange

vv

v

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

vv

arc axis

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

JJununggar Remnantgar RemnantOceanOcean

Junggar RemnantOcean

South TianshanAccretionary

Complex

Cryptic Suture a plane separatingthe northerly accretionary units

from the thrust belt to S

Future Cryptic Suture

Kepingtag thrust belt

Northern Tarim Cratonpassive margin

Central TianshanArc

Tarim Cratonarim Craton CentralCentral TianshanTianshanArc

Tarim Craton Central TianshanArc

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

North TianshanAccretionary Complex

Tarim Cratonarim Craton JununggargarOceanOcean

SouthSouth TianshanTianshanOceanOcean

Tarim Craton JunggarOcean

South TianshanOcean

Backstop a plane separatingthe arc from the accretionary complex

First-order tectonic boundary

Representing termination ofthe consumed ocean

eclogiteAlaskan-type

ultramafic-mafic complex

blueschist

eclogiteblueschist

Youngest component Late Permian

radiolarian cherts

S N

S N

Upper Plate

Lower Plate

Fig 14 Schematic 3-D diagrams demonstrating the position in the Late Carboniferous to Permian of the cryptic suture below the toe of the pre-collisional accretionary complexophiolitic meacutelanges in the accretionary complex and a backstop before (a) and after (b) closure of the intervening ocean The first-order tectonic boundary is the cryptic suturewhich separates the upper plate sequences (accretionary complex forearc and arc) from the lower plate sequences (passive margin and basement of craton) therefore recordingtermination of the consumed South Tianshan Ocean Note that the ophiolitic meacutelanges and backstop have been misleadingly interpreted as the suture zone

Junggar-BalkhashJunggar-BalkhashOceanOcean

Junggar-BalkhashOcean

LATE CARBONIFEROUS TO EARLY PERMIAN

Dananhu ArcDananhu Arc

Western Junggar

Western Junggar

ArcArcWestern Junggar

Arc

Pre-Altaid continental crust andCambrian-Silurian orogenic rocks

Island arc

Subduction-accretion complex

Oceanic crust

Subduction zone

Collision zone

Major thrust

High-pressureultrahigh-pressuremetamorphic belt

Granite

Major strike-slip fault

Northern Ili Arc

Northern Ili Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Issyk Kul Arc

Chatkal Arc

Chatkal Arc

~ 1000 km

South Tianshan Ocean

South Tianshan Ocean

Tethyan Ocea

Tethyan Ocean

Tethyan Ocean

TariTarimTarimNaryn ArcNaryn Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

Altay-EasternJunggar Arc

KarakuKarakum

Karakum

Future

Future

Kepingtag

epingtag

ThThrust

belt

ust belt

Future

Kepingtag

Thrust

belt

CentralCentral Tianshan A

Tianshan Arc

Central Tianshan Arc

Xiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004cXiao et al 2004c

This studyThis studyThis studyThis study

BuBurtman 1975tman 1975 2006a b 2006a b 2008 2008 2010 2010Brookfield 2000Brookfield 2000

BisBiske and Seltmann 2010e and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011Seltmann et al 2011

Multiple accretionary orogeny

Collisional orogeny

Subduction-related orogeny

Burtman 1975 2006a b 2008 2010Brookfield 2000

Biske and Seltmann 2010Seltmann et al 2011

Yuan et al 2010uan et al 2010Yuan et al 2010

Xiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aXiao et al 2009aWan et al 2011an et al 2011Wan et al 2011

posssiposssibleleP1 LaP1 Large Igneous Pe Igneous ProrovincevinceposssibleP1 Large Igneous Province

Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010Tian et al 2010

Yang et al 2007ang et al 2007Li et al 2011Li et al 2011Yang et al 2007Li et al 2011b

Fig 15 Sketch palinspastic and tectonic map of the Southern Tianshan orogenic collage in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (modified after Xiao et al 2009b 2010c Yuan et al2010) see text for detailed interpretation

1333W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

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Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

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Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

Searle MP Waters DJ Martin HN Rex DC 1994 Structure and metamorphism ofblueschistndasheclogite facies rocks from the northeastern Oman Mountains Journal ofStructural Geology 151 555ndash576

Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA 1996 Turkic-type orogeny and its role in the making ofthe continental crust Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 24 263ndash337

Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

Tagiri M Bakirov A 1990 Quartz pseudomorph after coesite in garnet from a garnet-chloritoid-talc schist northern Tien-Shan Kirghiz USSR Proceedings of the JapanAcademy 66 135ndash139

Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF Huang C Cui X 1994 ComprehensiveSurvey of Geological Sections in the West Tianshan of Xinjiang China SciencePress Beijing China pp 126ndash168 (in Chinese with English abstract) pp

Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

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Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

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Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 19: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1334 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

One more aspect which seems to be contradictory to the EarlyPermian termination model is that there was regional Early Permianextension in the Turfan and Bogda (or Bogeda) areas (Wartes et al2002) or Early Permian molasse sediments in the Bogda area (Liaoet al 1999) in the eastern Chinese Tianshan However as mentionedabove we argue here that if an active margin existed it would not besurprising to find evidence for associated extensional events The so-called molasse sediments may well be widely distributed but thoserelated to the collisional event should be found in the foreland ofthe Tarim Craton instead of in the arcs where intra-arc sedimentscommonly form but are not related to any collision event Thiswould be consistent with present-day typical active margins like theNorth American Cordillera or the SE Asian archipelago where thereare many multiple extensional episodes that are independent of anycontinental collisional event (McClelland et al 2000 Hall 2002Nokleberg et al 2005 Metcalfe 2006)

One last thing worth mentioning is that the large igneous province(LIP) or plume of early Permian in age occurred in the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton (Yang et al 2007a Tian etal 2010 Li et al 2011b) The exact distribution of this early PermianILP or plume is not unanimously accepted with one group of scien-tists proposing that a plume extends in the whole Altaids or even tothe Siberian Craton (Zhou et al 2004 Pirajno 2010 Xia et al2004 2008 Zhang et al 2010a Qin et al 2011) and another onesuggesting that the plume was only distributed in the Tarim Cratonand its adjacent areas (Yang et al 2007a Tian et al 2010 Li et al2011b Zhang et al 2010b) The main evidence of the first group isfrom the ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan which are actually either Alaskan-type com-plexes or results of slab-windows related to subduction of oceanicplate (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abc Li et al 2012) Also theages of those ultramaficndashmafic complexes located in the Chinese AltaiTianshan and Beishan are around late Carboniferous and Permian andthey are subduction-related (Xiao et al 2004c 2009ab 2010abcHan et al 2007 Ao et al 2010 Li et al 2012) which should not belongto any large igneous province Therefore it seems that the Tarim plumewas only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adjacent areas

It is interesting to note that large igneous provinces or plumes canoccur during any stage of orogeny including pre- syn- and post-orogenic ones (Dobretsov and Buslov 2011) Therefore even ifsome early Permian plumes existed in the southern part of the Altaids(Isozaki 2009) they should not be used solely to constrain closure ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean If we take the above facts that the Tarimplume was only strictly distributed in the Tarim Craton and its adja-cent areas and those northerly ultramaficndashmafic complexes areCarboniferous and Permian subduction-related we may be able tofigure out that the Tarim Craton was mainly located in the southernpart of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Carboniferous and Permianwhich was far from the accretionary marginal sequences of theTianshan

63 Tectonic evolution

The Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan is a collage predominantly of sev-eral island arcs From the Vendian onwards the northern tectonicunits were probably part of island arc systems situated in the Paleo-Asian Ocean (von Raumer et al 2003) Since the early Paleozoicthe eastern group of northern tectonic units the Dananhu andChinese Central Tianshan arcs were probably remnants of the Paleo-zoic active margin of the Siberian continent whereas the westerngroup of Northern Ili Issyk Kul Chatkal and Naryn arcs was part ofthe active margin along SE Kazakhstan (Mossakovsky et al 1993Jenchuraeva 1997 Cole 2001 Jenchuraeva 2001 Seltmann et al2001 Kheraskova et al 2003) This distinction between the westernand eastern groups of northerly trending arcs is in agreement withthe fact that high-pressure blueschists and eclogites and ultrahigh-

pressure metamorphic rocks in the western group have only minorequivalents in the eastern group

Considering the evidence of Cambro-Ordovician biogeographicdata the Tarim Craton may have belonged to Gondwanaland(Mossakovsky et al 1993 Jenchuraeva 1997 2001 Cole 2001Seltmann et al 2001 Kheraskova et al 2003 de Jong et al 2006)However this is highly unlikely because there is no evidence of anyGrenville-event in Northern Gondwana Also no reliable and conclu-sive paleomagnetic data are available to constrain and solve thisproblem It is possible that the Tarim and South China Cratonsbelonged to one block that split apart (Levashova et al 2007)

In the Cambrian there were oceanic domains between the CentralTianshan Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal arcs which were sepa-rated by the major Paleo-Asian Ocean from the Tarim and KarakumCratons to the south (Burtman 2006ab 2008 2010) The ChineseCentral Tianshan arc was located far from the western group of arcswhich relatively were closely situated and were roughly NWndashSE-trending (present coordinates) and separated by intervening oceans(JalairndashNaiman and Terskey)

In the Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction occurred north of theCentral Tianshan arc leading to an island arc (Dananhu) and someare-related basins The Yili terrane is an arc that was generated bysubduction of the oceanic crust in the Early Paleozoic with formationof the backarc and arc-related basins between the arc terrane and theTarim Craton The eastern group of arcs near the northern Siberia ac-tive margin (Dananhu and Central Tianshan arcs) and the westernarcs near the Kazakhstan Craton (Northern Ili Issyk Kul and Chatkal)developed in the northern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean The easterngroup of arcs was roughly EndashW-trending and derived from N-dippingsubduction zones (present coordinates) whereas the western groupof arcs was NWndashSE-trending and based on NE-dipping subductionzones

In the Late OrdovicianndashEarly Silurian the intervening JalairndashNaimanand Terskey oceans of the western group of arcs were consumed Clo-sure of these oceans gave rise to a composite arc that had a N-dippingsubduction zone beneath its southernmargin The subduction of ocean-ic crust of the Paleo-Asian Ocean (Turkestan) beneath the southernmargin of the composite arc may have lasted until the Silurian TheDananhu Central Tianshan and Alay arcs were still adrift in the Paleo-Asian Ocean as independent intraoceanic arcs through most of middlePaleozoic time

During the Devonian the Paleo-Asian Ocean containing the abovearcs evolved into a mature stage In the early Devonian magmatic ac-tivity migrated northwards to the northern Tianshan

In the early Carboniferous the Karakum and Tarim Cratons driftednorthwards Early-middle Carboniferous subduction-related magma-tism is known in nearly all the geological zones of the Tianshan tectonicunits and it continued in all island arcs in the Late Carboniferous to EarlyPermian Adakites and Alaskan-type maficndashultramafic complexes wereemplaced in arcs and forearcs

In the meantime all the early Paleozoic arcs in the western part ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean were bent to from the Kazakhstan orocline(Enkin et al 1992 Abrajevitch et al 2007) The NS-trending earlyPaleozoic arcs etc in SW Mongolia were rotated EW by formation ofthe TuvandashMongol orocline as indicated in the tectonic frameworkdiligently reconstructed by Lehmann et al (2010)

Accretion of all arcs to the Karakum and Tarim Cratons may havebegun in the Late Carboniferous to Permian (Fig 15) Large nappesin ophiolites and passive margin sediments were thrust onto theTarim craton Strong deformation affected the Tianshan Mountainsand coarse-grained Late Permian molasse-like sediments were de-posited in separate intermontane basins During the late Paleozoicand even during amalgamation the Tarim Craton may have rotatedclockwise and a western promontory of the Tarim Craton may havehit the Northern IlindashIssyk KulndashChatkal composite arc where deepsubduction and ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism occurred in the

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Afonichev NA Vlasov NG 1984 Appendix to the Geological Map of the Kazakhstanand the Central Asia in scale 1 1500000 VSEGEI Publishing House Leningrad234 pp

Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

Alekseev DV Aristov VA Degtyarev KE 2007 The age and tectonic setting of volcanicand cherty sequences in the ophiolite complex of the Atbashe Ridge (Southern TienShan) Doklady Earth Sciences 413A 380ndash383

Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

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Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

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Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

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Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

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Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

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Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

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Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

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Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

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Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

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Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

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Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

Wakabayashi J Dilek Y 2000 Spatial and temporal relationships between ophiolitesand their metamorphic soles a test of models of forearc ophiolite genesis InDilek Y Moores E Elthon D Nicolas A (Eds) Ophiolites and Oceanic CrustNew Insights from Field Studies and the Ocean Drilling Program Geological Societyof America Special Paper 349 pp 53ndash64

Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

Wang ZX Wu JY Lu XC Zhang JG Liu CD 1990 Polycyclic Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Tianshan Mountains Science Press Beijing (in Chinesewith English abstract) 217 pp

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Wang GR Cheng SD Yang SD Zhang ZM Ouyang S 1995 Map of Tectonism-Formation in the North Xinjiang China and Its Neighboring Area China Universityof Geosciences Press Wuhan

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Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

Windley BF Allen MB Zhang C Zhao ZY Wang GR 1990 Paleozoic accretionand Cenozoic redeformation of the Chinese Tien Shan Range Central Asia Geology18 128ndash131

Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

Xiao XC Tang YQ 1991 Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of the CentralAsian Complex Megasuture Belt Beijing Science and Technology Press Beijing6ndash25 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 20: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1335W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

PermianndashTriassic (Xiao et al 2010a b c) During this period theearly Permian plume may have mainly affected the present-daysouthwestern part of the Tarim Craton or its adjacent areas (Fig 15)

Right lateral displacements along large-scale strike-slip faultssuch as the TalasndashFergana JailairndashNaiman and Junggar faults oc-curred in the Late PermianndashTriassic Other large-scale strike-slipfaults such as those parallel to and within the South Tianshan orogenwere also active in the Late Permian This large-scale shearing waspart of much wider strike-slip tectonics across Central Asia in theLate Paleozoic (Buslov et al 2004 Buslov 2011) which included theoblique rifting of the West Siberian Basin near the PermianndashTriassicboundary (Allen et al 2006)

64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids

The tectonic framework outlined above provides evidence that theearly subductionndashaccretion systems grew southwards (seaward mi-gration) with both southward and northward subduction polarities(in present-day coordinates) This tectonic framework became morecomplex in the late CarboniferousndashPermian when there was anAndean-type active margin to the north and a complicated marginon the Tarim Craton to the south These multiple subduction polari-ties are consistent with an Indonesia-type archipelago palaeogeogra-phy as illustrated by the existence of several microcontinents and arcs(Filippova et al 2001 de Jong et al 2006 Shen et al 2009 Biske andSeltmann 2010 Xiao et al 2010abc Buslov 2011)

The long-lived accretionary processes developed from early subduc-tionndashaccretion (mostly early to middle Paleozoic) via an Andean-stageof development and arc-continental collision (late CarboniferousndashPermian) to a Mediterranean-type orogeny (late PermianndashTriassic)This led to the formation of the Turkestan suture and termination ofthe Paleo-Asian Ocean and formation of the Altaids in Central Asia(Heubeck 2001) This tectonic sequence sheds light on a long-standing controversy about orogenic development of the Altaids

For the multiple-terrane model some microcontinents and arcterranes formed archipelagos in the Paleo-Asian Ocean Howeversome units previously considered to be Precambrian microconti-nents have recently been recognized from new isotopic data to bePaleozoic accretionary belts (Dobretsov et al 2003) or the roots ofNeoproterozoic island arcs (Kozakov et al 2002 2007 Kovalenkoet al 2004) Some Precambrian ages (Kroumlner et al 2007) may recordthe roots of continental margin arcs Clearly the geological signifi-cance of some published Precambrian zircon ages or previouslydefined Precambrian Cratons needs re-evaluation and more workneeds to be done to distinguish real Precambrian microcontinentsfrom the roots of arcs or small fragments incorporated into accretion-ary complexes

Şengoumlr et al (1993) suggested that formation of the Tianshan wasthe result of just one island arc that was imbricated by strike-slipfaulting Although early to middle Paleozoic paleomagnetic data inKazakhstan (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006Levashova et al 2007) are compatible with oroclinal bending of a sin-gle arc the fundamental problem with the model of Şengoumlr et al(1993) is that it does not include multiple subduction systems sever-al microcontinents and many island arcs and continental margin arcsof different ages in the Palaeo-Asian Ocean for which there is nowmuch robust evidence In the Tianshan case the composite arc thatwas amalgamated by the western group of arcs (Northern Ili Issykkul and Chatkal) could alternatively have been interpreted as an ex-pression of a deformed integrated single arc that was imbricated bystrike-slip duplexing Because a considerable age difference existsbetween various parts of the Kazakhstan orocline and the UHP colli-sion in Kokchetav (Theunissen et al 2002) there must have been amore complicated situation than simple strike-slip duplexing of a sin-gle arc as suggested by Şengoumlr et al (1993) There are also otherfaults notably the North Tianshan Fault and the Irtysh Shear Zone

(Laurent-Charvet et al 2002 2003) which are incompatible withthe tectonic model of a simple single duplicated Kipchak arc Thetime span within which the Kazakhstan orocline formed was not inthe middle Paleozoic (Şengoumlr et al (1993) but in the CarboniferousndashPermian (Bazhenov et al 2003 Van der Voo et al 2006 Levashova etal 2007) In addition to the Kazakhstan orocline another orocline(Tuva-Mongol) in the eastern part of the southern Altaids which isnext to the Tianshanwas also found to be terminated in amore compli-cated way in the Permo-Triassic (Kroumlner et al 2010 Lehmann et al2010) than proposed by Şengoumlr et al (1993)

Accretion in Japan Alaska and the American Cordillera in theMesozoic and Cenozoic was characterized by oceanward trench mi-gration and corresponding oceanward migration of arc magmatism(Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley et al 2003Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Nokleberg et al 2005) However inspite of their different orientations on the Pacific margin accretionarygrowth did take place not only by strike-slip duplication of arcs butalso by progressive addition of new arcs and of granitic rocks generat-ed by ridge subduction by progressive accretion of new trench mate-rial and by addition of new island arcs seamounts oceanic islandsand oceanic plateaus from the Pacific Ocean (Isozaki et al 1990Isozaki 1997 Kusky et al 1997ab Lytwyn et al 1997 Bradley etal 2003 Furlong and Schwartz 2004 Ota et al 2007) Informationfrom the South Tianshan indicates that besides oceanward trench re-treat several arcs and microcontinents also collided into and accretedto the growing continental margin of the Tianshan

The collisional model of multiple backarc basins (Yakubchuk et al2001 Yakubchuk 2002) ignored forearc accretion and is inappropri-ate for the Tianshan because of clear evidence of forearc accretionThe Japanese Islands largely developed by forearc accretion throughthe last 500 Ma and provide the most appropriate modern analogof the long history of forearc accretion in the Tianshan (Isozaki etal 1990) A multiple accretionary orogen as represented in its na-scent state in present-day Indonesia (Hall 2002 Hall and Spakman2002) is developing from and during a complicated and varied se-quence of events

The tectonic evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt is charac-terized by a combination of accretionary intra-continental and colli-sional processes Crustal growth via lateral and vertical accretion wasdocumented in Central Asia with SmNd isotopic data on graniticrocks that mostly represent juvenile additions to the upper crust(Jahn et al 2004) Lateral accretion took place by oceanward rollbackwhich enabled the deposition of voluminous sediments in successivetrenches from the early Paleozoic in the northern Tianshan to the vastlate Paleozoic KokshaalndashKumishi accretionary complex during thefinal evolution of the Tianshan

Acknowledgments

The senior author thanks S Sun and JL Li for sound scientific ad-vice and numerous discussions over the years on the tectonicsof Central Asia Discussions and exchange of ideas and data withR Seltmann VS Burtman D Alexeiev A Kroumlner J Charvet LSShu JY Li J Gao J Wakabayashi M Brown W Collins and R Glencontributed significantly to the manuscript Many investigationshave been cited and we express our sincere apologies for not beingable to quote all publications on the Tianshan We appreciate con-structive comments and suggestions of T Kusky three anonymousreferees and editors Guest editor YF Zheng carefully handled themanuscript and provided important information about arcndashcontinentcollision which substantially improved early versions of the manu-script This study was financially supported by the Chinese State973 Project (2007CB411307) the Innovative Program of the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-Q04-08) Chinese State 305 Projects(2006BAB07B04-1 2011BAB06B04-01) and the Natural National

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Alekseiev DV Degtyarev KE Mikolaichuk AV 2008 Tectonic regimes and evolu-tion stages of the southern margin of the Kazakh paleocontinent in the CentralTien Shan Proceedings of the 41st Tectonic Conference on General and RegionalProblems of Tectonics and Geodynamics (GEOS Moscow) vol 1 pp 12ndash17 (inRussian)

Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

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Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

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Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

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Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

Matsuda T Isozaki Y 1991 Well-documented travel history of Mesozoic pelagicchert in Japan from remote ocean to subduction zone Tectonics 10 475ndash499

McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Mikolaichuk AV Kurenkov SA Degtyarev KE Rubtsov VI 1997 Northern TienShan main stages of geodynamic evolution in the Late PrecambrianndashEarly Paleo-zoic Geotectonics 31 445ndash462

Mitrofanov FP (Ed) 1982 Precambrian of the Middle Asia Nauka Publishing HouseLeningrad 144 pp

Mossakovsky AA Ruzhentsev SV Samygin SG Kheraskova TN 1993 The CentralAsian fold belt geodynamic evolution and formation history Geotectonics 26455ndash473

Nakajima T Maruyama S Uchiumi S Liou JG Wang XM Xiao XC Graham SA1990 Evidence for late Proterozoic subduction from 700-Myr-old blueschist inChina Nature 346 263ndash265

Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

Rui ZY Wang FT Li HH 2001 New advance of porphyry copper deposits in easternSafonova Tianshan Mountain Xinjiang Chinese Geology 28 11ndash17 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

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Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

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Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

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Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

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Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

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Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

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Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

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Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

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Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

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Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 21: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1336 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Science Foundation of China (40725009 40523003 40973036 and41190072)

References

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Ai YL Zhang LF Li XP Qu JF 2006 Geochemical characteristics of HPndashUHP eclo-gites and blueschists and tectonic implications in southwestern Tianshan ChinaProgress in Natural Science 16 624ndash632

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Alexeiev DV 2011 Paleozoic accretion of the Kazakhstan continent Penrose Conferenceon Comparative Evolution of Past and Present Accretionary Orogens Central Asiaand the Circum-Pacific Geological Society of America Urumqi China September2011 Abstract p 1

Alexeiev DV Ryazantsev AV Kroumlner A Tretyakov AA Xia X Liu DY 2011Geochemical data and zircon ages for rocks in a high-pressure belt of ChundashYilimountains southern Kazakhstan implications for the earliest stages of accretionin Kazakhstan and the Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 805ndash820

Alexyutin MV Bachtadse V Alexeiev DV Nikitina OI 2005 Palaeomagnetism ofOrdovician and Silurian rocks from the ChundashYili and Kendyktas mountains southKazakhstan Geophysical Journal International 161 1ndash12

Allen MB Windley BF Chi Z Guo JH 1993a Evolution of the Turfan Basin ChineseCentral Asia Tectonics 12 889ndash896

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1993b Palaeozoic collisional tectonics and magma-tism of the Chinese Tien Shan central Asia Tectonophysics 220 89ndash115

Allen MB Windley BF Zhang C 1994 Cenozoic tectonics in the UrumqindashKorla re-gion of the Chinese Tien Shan Geologische Rundschau 83 406ndash416

Allen MB Vincent SJ Wheeler P 1999 Late Cenozoic tectonics of the Kepingtagethrust zone interactions of the Tien Shan and Tarim Basin northwest ChinaTectonics 18 639ndash654

Allen MB Anderson L Searle RC Buslov MM 2006 Oblique rift geometry of theWest Siberian Basin tectonic setting for the Siberian flood basalts Journal of theGeological Society of London 163 901ndash904

Ao SJ Xiao WJ Han CM Mao QG Zhang JE 2010 Zircon UndashPb age geochemis-try and Hf isotopes of the early Permian maficndashultramafic complexes in theBeishan area NW China implications for the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution ofthe Altaids Gondwana Research 18 466ndash478

Badarch G Orolmaa D 1998 Overview of the geology and tectonic evolution ofsouthern Mongolia Mongolian Geoscientist 10 10ndash16

Badarch G Cunningham WD Windley BF 2002 A new terrane subdivision forMongolia implications for the Phanerozoic crustal growth of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 21 87ndash110

Bai YL 1994 Geotectonic setting of the Wutongwozi Group and its geochemicalproofs in Eastern Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 12 106ndash114 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Baratov RB Cherner ES (Eds) 1976 Stratigraphic Subdivisions and Intrusives of theTadzhikistan Donish Publishing House Dushanbe 270 pp

Bazhenov ML Mikolaichuk AV 2004 Structural evolution of Central Asia to the Northof Tibet a synthesis of paleomagnetic and geological data Geotectonics 38 379ndash393

Bazhenov ML Collins AQ Degtyarev KE Lavashova NM Mikolaichuk AVPavlov VE Van der Voo R 2003 Paleozoic northward drift of the North TienShan (Central Asia) as revealed by Ordovician and Carboniferous paleomagnetismTectonophysics 366 113ndash141

Biske YS Seltmann R 2010 Paleozoic TianndashShan as a transitional region between theRheic and UralsndashTurkestan oceans Gondwana Research 17 602ndash613

Bourdon E Eissen J-P Gutscher M-A Monzier M Hall ML Cotton J 2003 Mag-matic response to early aseismic ridge subduction the Ecuadorian margin case(South America) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 205 123ndash138

Bradley D Kusky T Haeussler P Goldfarb R Miller M DJ Nelson SW Karl S2003 Geological signature of early Tertiary ridge subduction in Alaska In SissonVB Roeske SM Pavlis TL (Eds) Geology of a Transpressional Orogen Devel-oped during RidgendashTrench Interaction along the North Pacific Margin GeologicalSociety of America Special Paper 371 pp 19ndash49

Brookfield ME 2000 Geological development and Phanerozoic crustal accretion in thewestern segment of the southern Tien Shan (Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)Tectonophysics 328 1ndash14

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI Abdrakhmatov KY 2001 Late Cenozoic tec-tonic evolution of the northwestern Tien Shan new age estimates for the initiationof mountain building Geological Society of America Bulletin 113 1544ndash1559

Bullen ME Burbank DW Garver JI 2003 Building the Northern Tien Shan inte-grated thermal structural and topographic constraints Journal of Geology 111149ndash165

Burtman VS 1975 The structural geology of the Variscan Tien Shan American Journalof Science 275A 157ndash186

Burtman VS 1980 Faults of Middle Asia American Journal of Science 280 725ndash744Burtman VS 2006a The Tien Shan Early Paleozoic tectonics and geodynamics

Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 8 ES3003 doi1022052006ES000202Burtman VS 2006b Tien Shan and High Asia Tectonics and Geodynamics in the

Paleozoic GEOS Moscow (in Russian) 214 ppBurtman VS 2008 Nappes of the southern Tien Shan Russian Journal of Earth Sciences

10 ES1006 doi1022052007ES000223Burtman VS 2010 Tien Shan Pamir and Tibet history and geodynamics of Phanerozoic

oceanic basins Geotectonics 44 388ndash404Burtman VS Samygin SG 2001 Tectonic evolution of High Asia in the Paleozoic and

Mesozoic Geotectonics 35 276Buslov MM 2011 Tectonics and geodynamics of the Central Asian Foldbelt the role

of Late Paleozoic large-amplitude strike-slip faults Russian Geology and Geophysics52 52ndash71

Buslov MM Watanabe T Fujiwara T Iwata K Smirnova LV Safonova IYuSemakov NN Kiryanova AP 2004 Late Paleozoic faults of the Altai regionCentral Asia tectonic pattern and model of formation Journal of Asian EarthSciences 23 655ndash671

Cai DS Lu HF Jia D Wu SM 1995 Paleozoic plate tectonic evolution of southernTianshan Chinese Geological Review 41 432ndash442 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Carroll AR Graham SA Hendrix MS Ying D Zhou D 1995 Late Paleozoic tecton-ic amalgamation of northwestern China sedimentary record of the northernTarim northwestern Turpan and southern Junggar basins Geological Society ofAmerica Bulletin 107 571ndash594

Carroll AR Graham SA Chang EZ McKnight C 2001 Sinian through Permian tec-tonostratigraphic evolution of the northwestern Tarim basin China In HendrixMS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Central andEastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 47ndash69

Cawood PA Kroumlner A Collins WJ Kusky TM Mooney WD Windley BF 2009Earth accretionary orogens through Earth history In Cawood PA Kroumlner A(Eds) Earth Accretionary Systems in Space and Time Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 318 pp 1ndash36

Chai F Zhang Z Mao J Dong L Zhang Z Wu H 2008 Geology petrology and geo-chemistry of the Baishiquan NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramafic intrusions in XinjiangNW China implications for tectonics and genesis of ores Journal of Asian EarthSciences 32 218ndash235

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S 2007 Paleozoic structural and geodynamicevolution of eastern Tianshan (NW China) welding of the Tarim and Junggarplates Episodes 30 162ndash185

Charvet J Shu LS Laurent-Charvet S Wang B Faure M Cluzel D Chen Y DeJong K 2011 Palaeozoic tectonic evolution of the Tianshan belt NW ChinaScience in China Series D Earth Sciences 54 166ndash184

Che ZC Liu HF Liu L 1994 Formation and Evolution of the Central Tianshan OrogenicBelt Geological Publishing House Beijing 109 pp

Chen CM Lu HF Jia D Cai DS Wu SM 1999 Closing history of the southernTianshan oceanic basinwestern China an oblique collisional orogeny Tectonophysics302 23ndash40

Chen FW He G-Q Li HQ 2003 Tectonic attribute of the Qoltag orogenic belt in theEast Tianshan Mountains northwestern China Geology in China 30 361ndash366 (inChinese with English abstract)

Chen FW Li HQ Chen YC Wang DH Wang JL Liu DQ Tang YL Zhou RH2005 Zircon SHRIM P UndashPb dating and its geological significance of mineralizationin TuwundashYandong porphyry copper mine East Tianshan Mountains Acta GeologicaSinica 79 256ndash261 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Chen W Zhang Y Qin KZ Wang QL Wang YT Liu XY 2007 Study on the age ofthe shear zone-type gold deposit of East Tianshan Xinjiang China Acta PetrologicaSinica 23 2007ndash2016 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Cole A 2001 Gold mineralization in the southern Tien Shan central Asia tectonicsetting characteristics exploration criteria In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 FieldConference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History Museum LondonUK pp 71ndash78

Coutand I Strecker MR Arrowsmith JR Hilley G Thiede RC Korjenkov AOmuraliev M 2002 Late Cenozoic tectonic development of the intramontaneAlai Valley (PamirndashTien Shan region central Asia) an example of intracontinentaldeformation due to the Indo-Eurasia collision Tectonics 21 1053 doi1010292002TC001358

Cui KR Xing LC Ding DG 1997 Discovery of crossite and phengite on the northernmargin of the Central Tianshan Mountains and its geological significance RegionalGeology of China 16 26ndash31 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dang QN Liu SW Shu GM Li QG 2004 Electron microprobe dating of monaziteand its application to metamorphism in Eastern Tianshan Xinjiang GeologicalJournal of China Universities 10 578ndash585 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Daukeev SZ Uzhkenov BS Miletenko NV Monozov AF Leonov YG Wang FTAkhmedov NA Abdyllayev EK Murzagaziav SM Orifov AO Ali-Zada AA2002 Atlas of the LithologymdashPaleogeographical Structural Palinspastic andGeoenvironmental Maps of Central Eurasia Scientific Research Institute of NaturalResources YUGGEO Almaty Kazakhstan

de Jong K Xiao WJ Windley BF Masago H Lo C-H 2006 Ordovician 40Ar39Arphengite ages from the blueschist-facies Ondor Sum subductionndashaccretion com-plex (Inner Mongolia) and implications for the early Palaeozoic history of conti-nental blocks in China and adjacent areas American Journal of Science 306799ndash845

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Deng ZQ Wang TG Xie DS 1992 The features of geophysical fields in XinjiangXinjiang Geology 10 233ndash243 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Dewey JF Shackleton R Chang CF Sun Y 1988 The tectonic evolution of the TibetanPlateau Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London A327 379ndash413

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2004 Serpentinitic meacutelanges associated with UP andUHP rocks in Central Asia International Geology Review 46 957ndash980

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM 2011 Problems of geodynamics tectonics and metallo-geny of orogens Russian Geology and Geophysics 52 1505ndash1515

Dobretsov NL Kirkdyashkin AG 1994 Blueschist belt of North Asia and models ofsubductionndashaccretion wedge In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of thePaleo-Asian Ocean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological CongressPart B VSP Utrecht The Netherlands pp 99ndash114

Dobretsov NL Coleman RG Liou JG Maruyama S 1987 Blueschist belt in Asia andpossible periodicity of blueschist facies metamorphism Ofioliti 12 445ndash456

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Vernikovsky VA 2003 Neoproterozoic to Early Ordovi-cian evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean implications to the break-up of RodiniaGondwana Research 6 143ndash159

Dobretsov NL Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Travin AV Zayachkovsky AA 2006VendianndashEarly Ordovician geodynamic evolution and model for exhumation ofultrahigh- and high-pressure rocks from the Kokchetav subductionndashcollisionzone (northern Kazakhstan) Russian Geology and Geophysics 47 424ndash440

Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

Enkin RJ Yang Z Chen Y Courtillot V 1992 Paleomagnetic constraints on the geo-dynamic history of the major blocks of China from Permian to the present Journalof Geophysical Research 97B (13) 953ndash13989

Filippova IB Bush VA Didenko AN 2001 Middle Paleozoic subduction belts theleading factor in the formation of the Central Asian fold-and-thrust belt RussianJournal of Earth Sciences 3 405ndash426

Furlong KP Schwartz SY 2004 Influence of the Mendocino triple junction on thetectonics of coastal California Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 32403ndash433

Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

Gao J Klemd R 2003 Formation of HPndashLT rocks and their tectonic implications onthe western Tianshan orogen NW China geochemical and age constraints Lithos66 1ndash22

Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

Gao J Li M Xiao X Tang Y He G 1998 Paleozoic tectonic evolution of theTianshan orogen northwestern China Tectonophysics 287 213ndash231

Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

Gao J Long LL Klemd R Qian Q Liu DY Xiong XM Su W WL Wang YTYang FQ 2009a Tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan orogen NWChina geochemical and age constraints of granitoid rocks International Journalof Earth Sciences 98 1221ndash1238

Gao J Qian Q Long LL Zhang X Li JL Su W 2009b Accretionary orogenic pro-cess of Western Tianshan China Geological Bulletin of China 28 1804ndash1816 (inChinese with English abstract)

Gao J Klemd R Qian Q Zhang X Li JL Jiang T Yang YQ 2011 The collisionbetween the Yili and Tarim blocks of the Southwestern Altaids geochemical andage constraints of a leucogranite dike crosscutting the HPndashLT metamorphic beltin the Chinese Tianshan Orogen Tectonophysics 499 118ndash131 doi101016jtecto201101001

Glen R Quinn C Xiao WJ 2011 Island arcs their role in growth of accretionary oro-gens and mineral endowment Gondwana Research 19 567ndash570 doi101016jgr201101001

Glorie S De Grave J Buslov MM Zhimulev FI Stockli DF Batalev VY Izmer A Vanden haute P Vanhaecke F Elburg MA 2011 Tectonic history of the Kyrgyz SouthTien Shan (Atbashi-Inylchek) suture zone The role of inherited structures duringdeformation-propagation Tectonics 30 TC6016 doi1010292011TC002949

Graham SA Brassell S Carroll AR Xiao X Demaison G McKnight CL Liang YChu J Hendrix MS 1990 Characteristics of selected petroleum-source rocksXinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region northwest China American Association ofPetroleum Geologists Bulletin 74 493ndash512

Graham SA Hendrix MS Hendrix MS Wang LB Carroll AR 1993 Collisionalsuccessor basins of western China impact of tectonic inheritance on sand compo-sition Geological Society of America Bulletin 105 323ndash344

Guo FX 2000 Affinity between Paleozoic blocks of Xinjiang and their suturing agesActa Geologica Sinica 74 1ndash6 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Guo J Shu LS Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sun S 2002 Geochemical features ofthe two early Paleozoic ophiolitic zones and the volcanic rocks in the Central-Southern Tianshan region Xinjiang Chinese Journal of Geochemistry 21 308ndash321

Gutscher M-A Maury R Eissen J-P Bourdon E 2000 Can slab melting be causedby flat subduction Geology 28 535ndash538

Hall R 2002 Cenozoic geological and plate tectonic evolution of SE Asia and the SWPacific computer-based reconstructions model and animations Journal of AsianEarth Sciences 20 353ndash431

Hall R Spakman W 2002 Subducted slabs beneath the eastern Indonesia-Tonga re-gion insights from tomography Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201 321ndash336

Han CM Xiao WJ Zhao GC Qu WJ Du AD 2007 RendashOs dating of the KalatongkeCundashNi deposit Altay Shan NW China and resulting geodynamic implications OreGeology Reviews 32 452ndash468 doi101016joregeorev200611004

Han BF Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Zhang L Chen JF Song B 2010a Age geochemistryand tectonic implications of a late Paleozoic stitching pluton in the North Tian Shansuture zone western China Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 627ndash640

Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

Han BF He GQ Wang XC Guo ZJ 2011 Late Carboniferous collision between theTarim and KazakhstanndashYili terranes in the western segment of the South Tian ShanOrogen Central Asia and implications for the North Xinjiang western ChinaEarth-Science Reviews 109 74ndash93 doi101016jearscirev201109001

Hegner E Klemd R Kroumlner A Corsini M Alexeiev DV Iaccheri LM Zack T DulskiP Xia X Windley BF 2010 Mineral ages and PndashT conditions of Late Paleozoichigh-pressure eclogite and provenance of meacutelange sediments from Atbashi in theSouth Tianshan orogen of Kyrgyzstan American Journal of Science 310 916ndash950

HendrixMS Graham SA Carroll AR Sobel ERMcKnight CL Schukein BJWang Z1992 Sedimentary record and climatic implications of recurrent deformation in theTian Shan evidence from Mesozoic strata of the north Tarim south Junggar andTurpan basins northwest China Geological Society of America Bulletin 104 53ndash79

Heubeck C 2001 Assembly of central Asia during the middle and late Paleozoic InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Cen-tral and Eastern Asia Geological Society of American Memoir 194 pp 1ndash22

Hosseini-Barzi M Talbot CJ 2003 A tectonic pulse in the Makran accretionary prismrecorded in Iranian coastal sediments Journal of the Geological Society of London160 903ndash910

Hou H-F Boucot AJ 1990 The BalkhashndashMongoliandashOkhotsk region of the OldWorldRealm In McKerrow WS Scotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography andBiogeography Geological Society of London Memoir 12 pp 297ndash303

Hsuuml KJ Haihong C 1999 Geologic Atlas of China An Application of the TectonicFacies Concept to the Geology of China Elsevier Amsterdam

Hu A Jahn BM Zhang G Chen Y Zhang Q 2000 Crustal evolution and Phanero-zoic crustal growth in northern Xinjiang Nd isotopic evidence Part I Isotopiccharacterization of basement rocks Tectonophysics 328 15ndash51

Huang BC Piper JDA Wang YC He HY Zhu RX 2005 Paleomagnetic and geo-chronological constraints on the post-collisional northward convergence of thesouthwest Tian Shan NW China Tectonophysics 409 107ndash124

Ienaga M McNeill LC Mikada H Saito S Goldberg D Moore JC 2006 Boreholeimage analysis of the Nankai accretionary wedge ODP Leg 196 structural andstress studies Tectonophysics 426 207ndash220

Isozaki Y 1997 Jurassic accretion tectonics of Japan The Island Arc 6 25ndash51Isozaki Y 2009 Illawarra Reversal the fingerprint of a superplume that triggered

Pangean breakup and the end-Guadalupian (Permian) mass extinction GondwanaResearch 15 421ndash432 doi101016jgr200812007

Isozaki Y Maruyama S Furuoka F 1990 Accreted oceanic materials in Japan Tecto-nophysics 181 179ndash205

Jahn BM Windley B Natalin B Dobretsov N 2004 Phanerozoic continentalgrowth in Central Asia Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 599ndash603

Jenchuraeva RJ 1997 Tectonic settings of porphyry-type mineralization and hydro-thermal alteration in Palaeozoic island arcs and active continental margins KyrghyzRange (Tien Shan) Kyrghyzstan Mineralium Deposita 32 434ndash440

Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geodynamics magmatism and metallogeny of theTien Shan In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guide-book Series 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 29ndash70

Ji JS Li HQ Zhang LC 1999 SmndashNd and RbndashSr isotopic ages of magnetitendashchloriteformation gold deposit in the volcanic rock area of Late Paleozoic Era EastTianshan Chinese Science Bulletin 44 1801ndash1804

Ji JS Yang XK Liu GH 2000 Distribution of the gold and copper mineralization inChol Tagh and their deposit prediction Chinese National 305 Project 05-04Urumqi Xinjiang China 593 pp

John T Klemd R Gao J Garbe-Schoumlnberg CD 2008 Trace element mobilization inslabs due to nonsteady-state fluidndashrock interaction constraints from an eclogite-facies transport vein in blueschist (Tianshan China) Lithos 103 1ndash24

Kheraskova TN Didenko AN Bush VA Volozh YA 2003 The VendianndashEarly Pa-leozoic history of the continental margin of Eastern Paleogondwana PaleoasianOcean and Central Asian Foldbelt Russian Journal of Earth Sciences 5 165ndash184

Kiselev VV Maksumova RA 2001 Geology of theNorthern andMiddle Tien Shan prin-cipal outlines In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics andGold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD GuidebookSeries 9 London Natural History Museum London UK pp 21ndash28

Klemd R Brocker M Hacker BR Gao J Gans P Wemmer K 2005 New age con-straints on the metamorphic evolution of the high-pressurelow-temperature beltin the western Tianshan Mountains NW China Journal of Geology 113 157ndash168

Klemd R John T Scherer EE Rondenay S Gao J 2011 Changes in dip of subductedslabs at depth petrological and geochronological evidence from HPndashUHP rocks(Tianshan NW-China) Earth and Planetary Science Letters 310 9ndash20

Konopelko D Biske G Seltmann R Eklund O Belyatsky B 2007 Hercynian post-collisional A-type granites of the Kokshaal Range Southern Tien Shan KyrgyzstanLithos 97 140ndash160

Kovalenko VI Yarmolyuk VV Kovach VP Kotov AB Kozakov IK Salnikova EBLarin AM 2004 Isotopic provinces mechanism of generation and sources of thecontinental crust in the Central Asian mobile belt geological and isotopic evidenceJournal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 605ndash627

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Kozakov IK Glebovitsky VA Bibikova EV Azimov PY Kirnozova TI 2002 Hercy-nian granulites of Mongolian and Gobian Altai geodynamic setting and formationconditions Doklady Earth Sciences 386 781ndash785

Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

Li HQ Xie CF Chang HL 1998 Study on Metallogenetic Chronology of Nonferrousand Precious Metallic Ore Deposits in Northern Xinjiang Geological PublishingHouse Beijing China 220 pp

Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

Luuml Z Zhang L Du J Bucher K 2008 Coesite inclusions in garnet from eclogitic rocksin western Tianshan northwest China convincing proof of UHP metamorphismAmerican Mineralogist 93 1845ndash1850

Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

Ma RS Shu LS Sun J 1997 Tectonic Evolution and Metallogeny of Eastern TianshanMountains Geological Publishing House Beijing (in Chinese with English abstarct)202 pp

Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

Makarov VI Alekseev DV Batalev VY Bataleva EA Belyaev IV Bragin VDDergunov NT Efimova NN Leonov MG Munirova LM Pavlenkin ADRoecker S Roslov YV Rybin AK Shchelochkov GG 2010 Underthrusting ofTarim beneath the Tien Shan and deep structure of their junction zone main re-sults of seismic experiment along MANAS Profile KashgarndashSong-Kol Geotectonics44 102ndash126 doi101134S0016852110020020

Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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McCall J 1996 The post-tectonic fanglomerates of the Makran accretionary prismIran Geoscientist 6 11ndash13

McClelland WC Tikoff B Manduca CA 2000 Two-phase evolution of accretionarymargins examples from the North American Cordillera Tectonophysics 326 37ndash55

Metcalfe I 2006 Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution and palaeogeography ofEast Asian crustal fragments the Korean Peninsula in context Gondwana Research9 24ndash46

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Nie S-Y Rowley DB Ziegler AM 1990 Constraints on the locations of Asian micro-continents in Palaeo-Tethys during the late Palaeozoic In McKerrow WSScotese CR (Eds) Palaeozoic Palaeogeography and Biogeography GeologicalSociety of London Memoir 12 pp 397ndash409

Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Ruzhentsev SV Pospelov II Badarch G 1989 Tectonics of the Mongolian Indosi-nides Geotectonics 23 476ndash487

Safonova IYu 2009 Intraplate magmatism and oceanic plate stratigraphy of thePaleo-Asian and Paleo-Pacific Oceans from 600 to 140 Ma Ore Geology Reviews35 137ndash154

Searle MP 1991 Geology and Tectonics of the Karakoram Mountains John Wiley ampSons Chichester 351 pp

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Seltmann S Shatov VV Cole A Yakubchuk S Jenchuraeva RJ 2001 Paleozoic geo-dynamics and gold deposits in the Altaids sector of Kyrgyzstanmdashintroduction InSeltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds) Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits inthe Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373 Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9London Natural History Museum London UK pp 1ndash6

Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Şengoumlr AMC Natalin BA Burtman US 1993 Evolution of the Altaid tectonic col-lage and Paleozoic crustal growth in Eurasia Nature 364 209ndash304

Sharps R McWilliams M Li YP Cox A Zhang Z Zhai Y Gao Z Li YA Li Q1989 Late Permian paleomagnetism of the Tarim block northwestern ChinaEarth and Planetary Science Letters 92 275ndash291

Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

Shu LS Wang YJ 2003 Late DevonianndashEarly Carboniferous radiolarian fossils fromsiliceous rocks of the Kelameili ophiolite Xinjiang Geological Review 49408ndash413 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Guo LZ 1999 A large-scale dextral ductile strike-slip zone theAqqikkudugndashWeiya zone along the northern margin of the Central Tianshan beltXinjiang NW China Acta Geologica Sinica 73 43ndash81

Shu LS Chen YT Lu HF Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Yin DH 2000 Paleozoicaccretionary terranes in Northern Tianshan NW China Journal of Chinese Geo-chemistry 19 193ndash202 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Shu LS Charvet J Lu HF Laurent SC 2002 Paleozoic accretionndashcollision eventsand kinematics of ductile deformation in the eastern part of the southern-centralTianshan belt Xinjiang China Acta Geologica Sinica 76 308ndash323 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Shu LS Yu JH Charvet J Laurent-Charvet S Sang HQ Zhang RG 2004 Geologicalgeochronological and geochemical features of granulites in the Eastern Tianshan NWChina Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 24 25ndash41

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

Smethurst MA Khramov AN Torsvik TH 1998 The Neoproterozoic and Paleozoicpalaeomagnetic data for the Siberian platform fromRodinia to Pangea Earth-ScienceReviews 43 1ndash24

Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

Su YZ 1981 On the geological and geographic distribution of the Tuvaellawith reference toits habitat Acta Palaeonologica Sinica 20 567ndash575 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

Sun LH Wang YJ Fan WM Zi JW 2008 Post-collisional potassic magmatism inthe Southern Awulale Mountain western Tianshan Orogen petrogenetic and tec-tonic implications Gondwana Research 14 383ndash394

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Tagiri M Yano T Bakirov A Nakajima T Uchiumi S 1995 Mineral paragenesesand metamorphic PndashT paths of ultrahigh-pressure eclogites from KyrghyzstanTien-Shan The Island Arc 4 80ndash292

Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

van der Straaten F Schenk V John T Gao J 2008 Blueschist-facies rehydration ofeclogites (Tian Shan NW-China) implications for fluidndashrock interaction in thesubduction channel Chemical Geology 255 195ndash219

Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

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Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

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Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

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Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

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Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

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Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

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Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 22: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1337W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Dong Y Zhang G Neubauer F Liu X Hauzenberger C Zhou D Li W 2011 Syn-and post-collisional granitoids in the Central Tianshan orogen geochemistrygeochronology and implications for tectonic evolution Gondwana Research 20568ndash581 doi101016jgr201101013

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Gao J Klemd R 2001 Primary fluids entrapped at blueschist to eclogite transitionevidence from the Tianshan meta-subduction complex in northwestern ChinaContributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 142 1ndash14

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Gao J He GQ Li MS Xiao XC Tang YQ 1995 The mineralogy petrology meta-morphic PTDt trajectory and exhumation mechanism of blueschists southTianshan northwestern China Tectonophysics 250 151ndash168

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Gao J Klemd R Zhang L Wang Z Xiao X 1999 PndashT path of high-pressurelowtemperature rocks and tectonic implications in the western Tian Shan MountainsNW China Journal of Metamorphic Geology 17 621ndash636

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Han C Xiao W Zhao G Ao S Zhang J Qu W Du A 2010b In-Situ UndashPb Hf andRendashOs isotopic analyses of the Xiangshan NindashCundashCo deposit in Eastern Tianshan(Xinjiang) Central Asia Orogenic Belt constraints on the timing and genesis ofthe mineralization Lithos 120 547ndash562

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Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

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Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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Nokleberg WJ Bundtzen TK Eremin RA Ratkin VV Dawson KM Shpikerman VIGoryachev NA Byalobzhesky SG Frolov YF Khanchuk AI Koch RD MongerJWH Pozdeev AI Rozenblum IS Rodionov SM Parfenov LM Scotese CRScholl DW Sidorov A 2005 Metallogenesis and tectonics of the Russian Far EastAlaska and the Canadian Cordillera USGS Professional Paper 1697 397 pp

Ota T Utsunomiya A Uchio Y Isozaki Y Buslov MM Ishikawa A Maruyama SKitajima K Kaneko Y Yamamoto H Katayama I 2007 Geology of the GornyAltai subductionndashaccretion complex southern Siberia tectonic evolution of anEdiacaranndashCambrian intra-oceanic arcndashtrench system Journal of Asian Earth Sciences30 666ndash695

Ouyang S Wang Z Zhan JZ Zhou YX 1993 A preliminary discussion on phytopro-vincial characters of CarboniferousndashPermian palynofloras in N Xinjiang NW ChinaActa Micropalaeontologica Sinica 10 237ndash255 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Pirajno F 2010 Intracontinental strike-slip faults associated magmatism mineral sys-tems and mantle dynamics examples from NW China and AltayndashSayan (Siberia)Journal of Geodynamics 50 325ndash346

Poupinet G Avouac J-P Jiang M Wei S Kissling E Herquel G Guilbert J Paul AWittlinger G Su H Thomas J-C 2002 Intracontinental subduction and Palaeo-zoic inheritance of the lithosphere suggested by a teleseismic experiment acrossthe Chinese Tien Shan Terra Nova 14 18ndash24

Qin KZ 2000 Metallogeneses in relation to the Central Asian-style orogeny in northernXinjiang Postdoc Report Institute of Geology and Geophysics Chinese Academy ofSciences Beijing 194 pp

Qin KZ Sun S LI JL Fang TH Wang SL Liu W 2002 Paleozoic epithermal Auand Cu deposits in North Xinjiang China Epochs features tectonic linkage and ex-ploration significances Resource Geology 52 291ndash300

Qin KZ Su BX Sakyi PA Tang DM Li XH Sun H Xiao QH Liu PP 2011 SIMSzircon UndashPb geochronology and SrndashNd isotopes of NindashCu-bearing maficndashultramaficintrusions in eastern Tianshan and Beishan in correlation with flood basalts inTarim Basin (NW China) constraints on a ca 280 Ma mantle plume AmericanJournal of Science 311 237ndash260 doi10247503201103

Ren R Han B-F Ji J-Q Zhang L Xu Z Su L 2011 UndashPb age of detrital zircons fromthe Tekes River Xinjiang China and implications for tectonomagmatic evolutionof the South Tian Shan Orogen Gondwana Research 19 460ndash470

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Rui Z Goldfarb RJ Qiu Y Zhou T Chen R Pirajno F Yun G 2002 PaleozoicndashearlyMesozoic gold deposits of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region northwestern ChinaMineralium Deposita 37 393ndash418

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Seltmann R Konopelko D Biske G Divaev F Sergeev S 2011 Hercynian post-collisional magmatism in the context of Paleozoic magmatic evolution of the TienShan orogenic belt Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 821ndash838

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Shen P Shen Y Liu T Meng L Dai H Yang Y 2009 Geochemical signature ofporphyries in the Baogutu porphyry copper belt western Junggar NW ChinaGondwana Research 16 227ndash242

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Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

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Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

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XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

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Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

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Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 23: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1338 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Kozakov IK Salnikova EB Wang T Didenko AN Plotkina YV Podkovyrov VN2007 Early Precambrian crystalline complexes of the Central Asian microcontinentage sources tectonic position Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation 15 121ndash140

Kroumlner A Windley BF Badarch G Tomurtogoo O Hegner E Jahn BM GruschkaS Khain EV Demoux A Wingate MTD 2007 Accretionary growth and crust-formation in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt and comparison with the ArabianndashNubian shield In Hatcher Jr RD Carlson MP McBride JH Martiacutenez CatalaacutenJR (Eds) 4-D Framework of Continental Crust Geological Society of AmericaMemoir 200 pp 181ndash209

Kroumlner A Lehmann J Schulmann K Demoux A Lexa O Tomurhuu D Stipska PLiu D Wingate MTD 2010 Lithostratigraphic and geochronological constraintson the evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt in SWMongolia Early Paleozo-ic rifting followed by late Paleozoic accretion American Journal of Science 310523ndash574

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ 1997a Progressive deformation of the Chu-gach accretionary complex Alaska during a Paleogene ridgendashtrench encounterJournal of Structural Geology 19 139ndash157

Kusky TM Bradley DC Haeussler PJ Karl S 1997b Controls on accretion offlysch andmelange belts at convergentmargins evidence from the Chugach Bay thrust and Ice-worm meacutelange Chugach accretionary wedge Alaska Tectonics 16 855ndash878

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Shu LS Ma RS Lu HF 2002 Paleozoic late collision-al strike-slip deformations in Tianshan and Altay Eastern Xinjiang NW ChinaTerra Nova 14 249ndash256

Laurent-Charvet S Charvet J Monie P Shu LS 2003 Late Paleozoic strike-slipshear zones in eastern central Asia (NW China) new structural and geochronolog-ical data Tectonics 22 1009 doi1010292001TC901047

Lehmann J Schulmann K Lexa O Corsini M Kroner A Stipska P Tomurhuu DOtgonbator D 2010 Structural constraints on the evolution of the Central AsianOrogenic Belt in SW Mongolia American Journal of Science 310 575ndash628

Lesik OM Mikolaichuk AV 2001 Deep structure of the Turkestan Paleo-Ocean su-ture (Northeastern Fergana) Russian Geology and Geophysics 42 1386ndash1392

Levashova NM Mikolaichuk AV McCausland PJA Bazhenov ML Van der Voo R2007 Devonian paleomagnetism of the North Tien Shan implications for themiddle-Late Paleozoic paleogeography of Eurasia Earth and Planetary Science Let-ters 257 104ndash120

Li YP 1990 An apparent polar wander path from the Tarim Block China Tectonophy-sics 181 31ndash41

Li XD Cui X 1994 Structures In Wang BY Lang ZJ Li XD Qu X Li TF HuangC Cui X (Eds) Comprehensive survey of Geological Sections in the West Tian-shan of Xinjiang Science Press China pp 126ndash168

Li Q Zhang LF 2004 The PndashT path and geological significance of the low-pressuregranulite-facies metamorphism in Muzhaerte Southwest Tian Shan Acta Petrolo-gica Sinica 20 583ndash594 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YP Sharps R McWilliams M Nur A Li Y Li Q Zhang W 1989 Paleomagneticresults from Late Paleozoic dikes from the northwestern Junggar Block northwest-ern China Earth and Planetary Science Letters 94 123

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Li WQ Dong FR Zhou RH 2000 Ophiolite discovered in Kangurtag region and itscharacteristics Xinjiang Geology 18 121ndash128 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li WM Ren BC Yang XK Li YZ Chen Q 2002 The intermediate-acid intrusivemagmatism and its geodynamic significance Geology of Northwest China 3541ndash63 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li JY Xiao WJ Wang KZ Sun GH Gao LM 2003 NeoproterozoicndashPaleozoic tec-tonostratigraphic framework of Eastern Xinjiang NW China In Mao JWGoldfarb R Seltmann R Wang DH Xiao WJ Hart C (Eds) Tectonic Evolutionand Metallogeny of the Chinese Altay and Tianshan International Association onthe Genesis of Ore Deposits (IAGOD) Guidebook Ser 10 IGCP 473 Workshop2003 Urumqi Natural History Museum IAGDOCERAMS London pp 31ndash74

Li QG Liu SW Han BF Zhang J Chu ZY 2004a Geochemistry of metasedimen-tary rocks of the Proterozoic Xingxingxia complex implications for provenanceand tectonic setting of the eastern segment of the Central Tianshan TectonicZone northwest China Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 42 287ndash306

Li XD Xiao WJ Zhou ZL 2004b 40Ar39Ar age determination on the Late Devoniantectonic event along the southern margin of the South Tianshan Mountains and itssignificance Acta Petrologica Sinica 20 691ndash696

Li XM Xia LQ Xia ZC Xu XY Ma ZP Wang LS 2004c Zircon UndashPb geochronologyof volcanic rocks of the Qieshan Group in the East Tianshan Mountains GeologicalBulletin of China 23 1215ndash1220 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li YJ Sun LD Wu HR Wang GL Yang CS Peng GX 2005 Permo-Carboniferousradiolaria from the Wupatarkan Group west terminal of Chinese South TianshanChinese Journal of Geology 40 220ndash226 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Li QG Liu SWWang ZQ Han BF Shu GMWang T 2008 Electronmicroprobemon-azite geochronological constraints on the Late Palaeozoic tectonothermal evolution inthe Chinese Tianshan Journal of the Geological Society of London 165 511ndash522

Li S Wang T Ying T 2010 Spatialndashtemporal distribution and tectonic settings ofEarly Mesozoic granitoids in the middle-south segment of the Central Asian Oro-genic System Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 29 642ndash662 (in Chinese with En-glish abstract)

Li QL Lin W Su W Li X-H Shi Y Liu Y Tang G-Q 2011a SIMS UndashPb rutile ageof low-temperature eclogites from southwestern Chinese Tianshan NW ChinaLithos 122 76ndash86

Li ZL Chen HL Song B Li YQ Yang SF Yu X 2011b Temporal evolution of thePermian large igneous province in Tarim Basin in northwestern China Journal ofAsian Earth Sciences Sciences 42 917ndash927 doi101016jjseaes201105009

Li CS Zhang ML Fu PE Qian ZZ Hu PQ Ripley EM 2012 The Kalatongke mag-matic NindashCu deposits in the Central Asian Orogenic Belt NW China product of slabwindow magmatism Mineralium Deposita Deposita 47 51ndash67

Liao ZT Liu LJ 2003 The Carboniferous and Permian of the GansundashXinjiang borderarea with remarks on the age of the surrounding strata of the Jinwozi gold oreJournal of Stratigraphy 27 163ndash172 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang KL Zhou YX 1990 Discovery of Early Carboniferous fossil of meta-morphic rocks at Tiemenguan and its significance Xinjiang Geological Science 113ndash107 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Liu LJ Zhang W 1999 Early Permian molasse facies assemblage on thesouthwestern slope of Bogda Mountain Journal of Stratigraphy 23 190ndash210 (inChinese with English abstract)

Liao ZT Wang YJ Wang GL Xia FS Zhou YX Liao WH Ouyang S 2003 Newdevelopment in the study on Carboniferous biostratigraphy in Northern XinjiangIn Tu GC (Ed) New Improvements of Solid Geosciences in Northern XinjiangScience Press Beijing China pp 79ndash94

Lin W Faure M Shi Y Wang Q Li Z 2009a Palaeozoic tectonics of the south-western Chinese Tianshan new insights from a structural study of the high-pressurelow-temperature metamorphic belt International Journal of Earth Sciences98 1259ndash1274

Lin W Wang B Faure M Chen Y Wang QC 2009b Tectonic evolution and crustalstructure of the Paleozoic Chinese Tianshan Facts and arguments InternationalWorkshop Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 36 pp

Liu B Qian YX 2003 The geological characteristics and fluid evolution in the threehigh-pressure metamorphic belts of eastern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 19283ndash296 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Liu BP Wang ZQ Zhang CH 1996 Tectonic Framework and Evolution of theSouthwestern Tianshan China University of Geosciences Press 120 pp

Liu SW Guo ZJ Zhang ZC Li QG Zheng HF 2004 Nature of Precambrian meta-morphic blocks in eastern segment of the Central Tianshan constraints from geo-chronology and Nd geochemistry Science in China Series D Earth Sciences 471085ndash1094

Long LL Gao J Xiong XM Qian Q 2006 The geochemical characteristics and the age ofthe Kule Lake ophiolite in the southern Tianshan Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 65ndash73

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Xiao WJ Wang YJ Yang YH Hu AQ 2010Archean crustal evolution of the northern Tarim craton NW China zircon UndashPband Hf isotopic constraints Precambrian Research 180 272ndash284

Long XP Yuan C Sun M Kroumlner A Zhao GC Wilde S Hu AQ 2011 Reworkingof the Tarim Craton by underplating of mantle plume-derived magmas evidencefrom Neoproterozoic granitoids in the Kuluketage area NW China PrecambrianResearch 187 1ndash14

Lu SN Yu HF Jin W Li HQ Zheng JK 2002 Microcontinents on the eastern marginof Tarim paleocontinent Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 21 317ndash326 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Lu S Li H Zhang C Niu G 2008 Geological and geochronological evidence for thePrecambrian evolution of the Tarim Craton and surrounding continental frag-ments Precambrian Research 160 94ndash107

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Lytwyn J Casey J Gilbert S Kusky T 1997 Arc-like mid-ocean ridge basalt formedseaward of a trenchndashforearc system just prior to ridge subduction an examplefrom subaccreted ophiolites in southern Alaska Journal of Geophysical ResearchSolid Earth 102 10225ndash10243

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Ma ZP Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 Geochemical characteris-tics of basalts evidence for the tectonic setting and geological significance ofKulehu ophiolite South Tianshan Mountains Acta Petrologica et Mineralogica 25

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Maksumova RA Jenchuraeva AV Berezansky AV 2001 Major tectonic unitsand evolution of the Tien Shan orogen In Seltmann S Jenchuraeva R (Eds)Paleozoic Geodynamics and Gold Deposits in the Kyrgyz Tien Shan IGCP 373Field Conference IAGOD Guidebook Series 9 London Natural History MuseumLondon UK pp 17ndash20

Mao QG Xiao WJ Han CM Sun M Yan Z Yong Y Zhang JE 2006 Zircon UndashPbage of the Baishiquan CundashNi sulfide deposit in the eastern Tianshan Xinjiang con-straints for close of the Paleoasian Ocean Acta Petrologica Sinica 22 153ndash162

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Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB 2007 Age of radiolarian fossils from the Heiyingshanophiolitic meacutelange southern Tianshan Belt NW China and its tectonic signifi-cance Acta Geologica Sinica 81 1161ndash1168

Shu LS Deng XL Zhu WB Ma DS Xiao WJ 2011a Precambrian tectonic evolutionof the Tarim Block NWChina new geochronological insights from the Quruqtagh do-main Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 42 774ndash790

Shu LS Wang B Zhu WB Guo ZJ Charvet J Zhang Y 2011b Timing of initiation ofextension in the Tianshan based on structural geochemical and geochronologicalanalyses of bimodal volcanism and olistostrome in the Bogda Shan (NWChina) Inter-national Journal of Earth Sciences 100 1647ndash1663 doi101007s00531-010-0575-5

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Smith AB 1988 Late Palaeozoic biogeography of East Asia and palaeontological con-straints on plate tectonic reconstructions In Shackleton RM Dewey JFWindley BF (Eds) Tectonic Evolution of the Himalayas and Tibet PhilosophicalTransactions of the Royal Society of London Series A pp 189ndash227

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Su W Gao J Klemd R Li J-L Zhang X Li X-H Chen N-S Zhang L 2010 UndashPbzircon geochronology of Tianshan eclogites in NW China implication for thecollision between the Yili and Tarim blocks of the southwestern Altaids EuropeanJournal of Mineralogy 22 473ndash478

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Tang K 1990 Tectonic development of Paleozoic fold belts at the north margin of theSino-Korean craton Tectonics 9 249ndash260

Theunissen K Smirnova L Dehandschutter B 2002 Pseudotachylytes in the south-ern border fault of the Cenozoic intracontinental Teletsk basin (Altai Russia)Tectonophysics 351 169ndash180

Tian W Campbell IH Allen CM Guan P Pan WQ Chen MM Yu HJ Zhu WP2010 The Tarim picritendashbasaltndashrhyolite suite a Permian flood basalt from north-west China with contrasting rhyolites produced by fractional crystallization andanatexis Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 160 407ndash425 doi101007s00410-009-0485-3

Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Van der Voo R Levashova NM Skrinnik LI Kara TV Bazhenov ML 2006 Lateorogenic large-scale rotations in the Tien Shan and adjacent mobile belts inKyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan Tectonophysics 426 335ndash360

Volkova NI Budanov VI 1999 Geochemical discrimination of metabasalt rocks ofthe Fan-Karategin transitional blueschistgreenschist belt South Tianshan Tajiki-stan seamount volcanism and accretionary tectonics Lithos 47 201ndash216

von Raumer JF Stampfli GM Bussy F 2003 Gondwana-derived microcontinentsmdashtheconstituents of the Variscan and Alpine collisional orogens Tectonophysics 365 7ndash22

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Wakita K Metcalfe I 2005 Ocean plate stratigraphy in East and Southeast Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 24 679ndash702

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Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

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Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

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Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

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Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

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Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

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Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

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Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

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Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

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Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

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Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 24: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1339W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

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Tong Y Wang T Hong D Baofu H Zhang J Shi J Wang C 2010 Spatial and tem-poral distribution of the CarboniferousndashPermian granitoids in Northern XInjiangand its adjacent areas and its tectonic significance Acta Petrologica et Mineralo-gica 29 619ndash641 (in Chinese with English abstract)

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Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

Xiao XC Tang YQ 1991 Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of the CentralAsian Complex Megasuture Belt Beijing Science and Technology Press Beijing6ndash25 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 25: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1340 W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Wang B Chen Y Zhan S Shu LS Faure M Cluzel D Charvet J Laurent-CharvetS 2007a Primary Carboniferous and Permian paleomagnetic results from YiliBlock and their geodynamic implications on evolution of Chinese Tianshan BeltEarth and Planetary Science Letters 263 288ndash308

Wang B Shu LS Cluzel D Faure M Charvet J 2007b Geochemical constraints onCarboniferous volcanic rocks of the Yili Block (Xinjiang NW China) implication forthe tectonic evolution of Western Tianshan Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 29148ndash159

Wang Q Wyman DA Zhao Z-H Xu J-F Bai Z-H Xiong X-L Dai T-M Li C-FChu Z-Y 2007c Petrogenesis of Carboniferous adakites and Nb-enriched arc ba-salts in the Alataw area northern Tianshan Range (western China) implicationsfor Phanerozoic crustal growth in the Central Asia orogenic belt Chemical Geology236 42ndash64

Wang B Faure M Shu L Cluzel D Charvet J DeJong K Chen Y 2008a Paleozoictectonic evolution of the Yili Block western Chinese Tianshan Bulletin de la SocieacuteteacuteGeacuteologique de France 179 483ndash490

Wang Y Li J-Y Sun GH 2008b Post-collisional eastward extrusion and tectonic ex-humation along the Eastern Tianshan Orogen Central Asia constraints from dex-tral strike-slip motion and 40Arndash39Ar chronological evidence Journal of Geology116 599ndash618 doi101086591993

Wang Q Shu L Charvet J Faure M Ma H Natalin B Gao J Kroner A Xiao W LiJ Windley B Chen Y Glen R Jian P Zhang W Seltmann R Wilde S ChouletF Wan B Quinn C Rojas-Agramonte Y Wang B Lin W 2010 Understandingand study perspectives on tectonic evolution and crustal structure of the PaleozoicChinese Tianshan report on the international excursion and workshop UrumqiChina Episodes 33 242ndash266

Wang B Shu L Faure M Jahn B-m Cluzel D Charvet J Chung S-l Meffre S2011 Paleozoic tectonics of the southern Chinese Tianshan insights from structur-al chronological and geochemical studies of the Heiyingshan ophiolitic melange(NW China) Tectonophysics 497 85ndash104

Wartes MA Carroll AR Greene TJ 2002 Permian sedimentary record of the Tur-panndashHami basin and adjacent regions northwest China constraints on post-amalgamation tectonic evolution Geological Society of America Bulletin 114131ndash152

Wei C Wang B Clarke GL Zhang L Song S 2009 Metamorphism of highultra-high-pressure peliticndashfelsic schist in the south Tianshan orogen NW Chinaphase equilibria and PndashT path Journal of Petrology 50 1973ndash1991

White RS 1982 Deformation of the Makran accretionary sediment prism in the Gulfof Oman (northwest Indian Ocean) Geological Society of London Special Publication10 357ndash372

Wilde SA Wu FY Zhao GC Zhou JB Sklyarov E 2009 Termination of the easternCentral Asian Orogenic Belt due to onset of Pacific-plate accretion in the latestTriassicndashEarly Jurassic In Lin W Wang B (Eds) International Field Excursionand Workshop on Tectonic Evolution and Crustal Structure of the Paleozoic ChineseTianshan Urumqi China September 9ndash19 2009 p 66

Windley BF Allen MB Zhang C Zhao ZY Wang GR 1990 Paleozoic accretionand Cenozoic redeformation of the Chinese Tien Shan Range Central Asia Geology18 128ndash131

Windley BF Alexeiev D Xiao W Kroumlner A Badarch G 2007 Tectonic models foraccretion of the Central Asian Orogenic belt Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 164 31ndash47

Wu F-Y Sun D-Y Li H Jahn BM Wilde S 2002 A-type granites in northeasternChina age and geochemical constraints on their petrogenesis Chemical Geology187 143ndash173

Wu H Li HQ Mo XH Chen FW Lu YF Mei YP Deng G 2005 Age of the Baishi-quan maficndashultramafic complex Hami Xinjiang and its geological significance ActaGeologica Sinica 79 498ndash502

XBGMR 1993 Regional Geology of Xinjiang Autonomous Region Geological MemoirsSer 1 No 32 Map Scale 1 1500000 Geological Publishing House Beijing 841 pp

Xia LQ Xu XY Xia ZC Li XM Ma ZP Wang LS 2004 Petrogenesis of Carbon-iferous rift-related volcanic rocks in the Tianshan northwestern China GeologicalSociety of America Bulletin 116 419ndash433

Xia L-Q Xia Z-C Xu X-Y Li X-M Ma Z-P 2008 Relative contributions of crustand mantle to the generation of the Tianshan Carboniferous rift-related basiclavas northwestern China Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 31 357ndash378

Xiao XC Tang YQ 1991 Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Margin of the CentralAsian Complex Megasuture Belt Beijing Science and Technology Press Beijing6ndash25 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Feng YM Zhu BZ Li J Zhao M 1992 The Tectonic Evolutionof North Xinjiang and Its Adjacent Regions Geological Publishing House Beijing190 pp

Xiao XC Tang YQ Wang J Gao J Zhao M 1994a Blueschist belts and their tecton-ic implications of the S Tianshan Mts NW China Acta Geoscentia Sinica Bulletinof the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences 15 (3ndash4) 54ndash64 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Xiao XC Tang YQ Zhao M Wang J 1994b Tectonic evolution of the NorthernXinjiang NW China an introduction to the tectonics of the southern part of thePaleo-Asian Ocean In Coleman RG (Ed) Reconstruction of the Paleo-AsianOcean Proceeding of the 29th International Geological Congress Part B VSPUtrecht The Netherlands pp 25ndash37

Xiao WJ Windley BF Hao J Zhai MG 2003 Accretion leading to collision and thePermian Solonker suture Inner Mongolia China termination of the Central Asianorogenic belt Tectonics 22 1069 doi1010292002TC1484

Xiao SH Bao HM Wang HF Kaufman AJ Zhou CM Li GX Yuan XL Ling HF2004a The Neoproterozoic Quruqtagh Group in eastern Chinese Tianshan evi-dence for a post-Marinoan glaciation Precambrian Research 130 1ndash26

Xiao WJ Windley BF Badarch G Sun S Li JL Qin KZ Wang ZH 2004b Palaeo-zoic accretionary and convergent tectonics of the southern Altaids implications forthe lateral growth of Central Asia Journal of the Geological Society of London 161339ndash342

Xiao WJ Zhang LC Qin KZ Sun S Li JL 2004c Paleozoic accretionary and colli-sional tectonics of the Eastern Tianshan (China) implications for the continentalgrowth of central Asia American Journal of Science 304 370ndash395

Xiao XC Liu X Gao R 2004d Geotransect of the TianshanndashTarimndashKunlunshanXinjiang China Scale 11000000 Geological Publishing House Beijing China

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Lin SF Chen HL Li ZL Li JL Sun S 2008Middle Cambrian to Permian subduction-related accretionary orogenesis of NorthXinjiang NW China implications for the tectonic evolution of Central Asia Journalof Asian Earth Sciences 32 102ndash117 doi101016jjseas200710008

Xiao WJ Windley BF Huang BC Han CM Yuan C Chen HL Sun M Sun S LiJL 2009a End-Permian to mid-Triassic termination of the accretionary processesof the southern Altaids implications for the geodynamic evolution Phanerozoiccontinental growth and metallogeny of Central Asia International Journal ofEarth Sciences 98 1189ndash1287

Xiao WJ Windley BF Yuan C Sun M Han CM Lin SF Chen HL Yan QR LiuDY Qin KZ Li JL Sun S 2009b Paleozoic multiple subduction-accretion pro-cesses of the southern Altaids American Journal of Science 309 221ndash270

Xiao WJ Han CM Yuan C Sun M Zhao GC Shan YH 2010a Transitions amongMariana- Japan- Cordillera- and Alaska-type arc systems and their final juxtapositionsleading to accretionary and collisional orogenesis In Kusky T Zhai MG Xiao WJ(Eds) The Evolving Continents Understanding Processes of Continental GrowthGeological Society of London Special Publications 338 pp 35ndash53

XiaoWJ Huang BC Han CM Sun S Li JL 2010b A review of the western part of theAltaids a key to understanding the architecture of accretionary orogens GondwanaResearch 18 253ndash273

Xiao WJ Mao QG Windley BF Qu JF Zhang JE Ao SJ Guo QQ Cleven NRLin SF Shan YH Li JL 2010c Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisionalprocesses of the Beishan orogenic collage American Journal of Science 3101553ndash1594

Xu XY Xia LQ Ma ZP Xia ZC Li XM Wang LS 2006 SHRIMP zircon UndashPb geo-chronology of the plagiogranites from Bayingou ophiolite in North TianshanMountains and the petrogenesis of the ophiolite Acta Petrologica Sinica 2283ndash94 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Yakubchuk AS 2002 The BaikalidendashAltaid TransbaikalndashMongolian and North Pacificorogenic collage similarity and diversity of structural patterns and metallogeniczoning In Blundell DJ Neubauer F von Quadt A (Eds) The Timing and Loca-tion of Major Ore Deposits in an Evolving Orogen Geological Society of LondonSpecial Publications 204 pp 273ndash297

Yakubchuk A 2004 Architecture and mineral deposit settings of the Altaid orogeniccollage a revised model Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 23 761ndash779

Yakubchuk AS Seltmann R Shatov V Cole A 2001 The Altaids tectonic evolutionand metallogeny Society of Economical Geologists Newsletters 46 7ndash14

Yamamoto Y Kawakami S 2005 Rapid tectonics of the Late Miocene Boso accretion-ary prism related to the IzundashBonin arc collision The Island Arc 14 178ndash198

Yamamoto Y Mukoyoshi H Ogawa Y 2005 Structural characteristics of shallowlyburied accretionary prisms rapidly uplifted Neogene accreted sediments on theMiurandashBoso Peninsula central Japan Tectonics 24 TC5008 doi1010292005TC001823

Yang S-H Zhou M-F 2009 Geochemistry of the 430 Ma Jingbulake maficndashultramaficintrusion in Western Xinjiang NW China implications for subduction relatedmagmatism in the South Tianshan orogenic belt Lithos 113 259ndash273

Yang XK Tao HX Luo GC Ji JS 1996 Basic features of plate tectonics in EasternTianshan of China Xinjiang Geology 14 221ndash227 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

Yang HB Gao P Li B Zhang QJ 2005 The geological character of the Dalubayiophiolite in theWest Tianshan Xinjiang Xinjiang Geology 23 123ndash126 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Yang XK Chen H Su CQ Yan HQ Liu JQ 2006 Discovery of Permian volcanicrocks in between Eastern and Western Tianshan of China and its geological signif-icance Pan-China Petrological and Geodynamic Meeting Nanjing pp 35ndash38 (inChinese with English abstract)

Yang SF Li ZL Chen HL 2007a Discovery of Permian bimodal dyke geochemistryand implications for tectonic evolution related to the last major tectonothermalevent in Tarim Basin NW China Gondwana Research 4 113ndash120

Yang TN Wang Y Li JY Sun GH 2007b Vertical and horizontal strain partitioningof the Central Tianshan (NW China) evidence from structures and 40Ar39Ar geo-chronology Journal of Structural Geology 29 1605ndash1621

Yang TN Li JL Wang Y Dang YX 2009 Late Early Permian (266 Ma) NndashS com-pressional deformation of the Turfan basin NW China the cause of the changein basin pattern International Journal of Earth Sciences 98 1311ndash1324

Yuan C Sun M Wilde S Xiao W Xu Y Long X Zhao G 2010 Post-collisional plu-tons in the Balikun area East Chinese Tianshan evolving magmatism in responseto extension and slab break-off Lithos 119 269ndash288

Yue Y Liou JG Graham SA 2001 Tectonic correlation of Beishan and Inner Mongoliaorogens and its implications for the palinspastic reconstruction of north China InHendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic andMesozoic Tectonic Evolution of Centraland Eastern Asia From Continental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 101ndash116

Zhang ZX Wang BY 1996 Early Carboniferous paleobiogeographical provinces inXingmengndashNorth Xinjiang and neighboring areas Xinjiang Geology 14 37ndash47

Zhang ZM Liou JG Coleman RG 1984 An outline of the plate tectonics of ChinaGeological Society of America Bulletin 95 295ndash312

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References
Page 26: Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage

1341W Xiao et al Gondwana Research 23 (2013) 1316ndash1341

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Jiang WB 2002a Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism in westernTianshan China Part I Evidence from inclusions of coesite pseudomorphs ingarnet and from quartz exsolution lamellae in omphacite in eclogites AmericanMineralogist 87 853ndash860

Zhang LF Ellis DJ Williams S Jiang WB 2002b Ultra-high pressure metamor-phism in western Tianshan China Part II Evidence from magnesite in eclogiteAmerican Mineralogist 87 861ndash866

Zhang L Ellis DJ Arculus RJ Jiang W Wei C 2003 lsquoForbidden zonersquo subduction ofsediments to 150 km depthmdashthe reaction of dolomite to magnesite+aragonite inthe UHPM metapelites from western Tianshan China Journal of MetamorphicGeology 21 523ndash529

Zhang LF Song SG Liou JG Ai YL Li X 2005a Relict coesite exsolution inomphacite from Western Tianshan eclogites China American Mineralogist 90181ndash186

Zhang ZZ Gu LX Wu CZ Li WQ Xi AH Wang S 2005b Zircon SHRIMP agedating for the Weiya pluton eastern Tianshan its geological implications ActaGeologica Sinica 79 481ndash490

Zhang LF Ai YL Li XP Rubatto D Song B Williams S Song SG DE Liou JG2007 Triassic collision of western Tianshan orogenic belt China evidence fromSHRIMP UndashPb dating of zircon from HPUHP eclogitic rocks Lithos 96 266ndash280

Zhang LF Luuml Z Zhang GB Song SG 2008 The geological characteristics ofoceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts and their tectonic implications case studiesfrom Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam in NW China Chinese Science Bulletin53 3120ndash3130

Zhang CL Li ZX Li XH Yu YG Zhou G Ye HM 2010a A Permian large igneousprovince in Tarim and Central Asian orogenic belt NW China results of a ca 275Ma mantle plume Geological Society of America Bulletin 122 2020ndash2040doi101130B300071

Zhang YT Liu JQ Guo ZF 2011b Permian basaltic rocks in the Tarim basin NWChina implications for plumendashlithosphere interaction Gondwana Research 18596ndash610 doi101016jgr201003006

Zheng YF Ye K Zhang LF 2009 Developing the plate tectonics from oceanic sub-duction to continental collision Chinese Science Bulletin 54 2549ndash2555doi101007s11434-009-0464-0

Zheng Y-F Zhang L McClelland WC Cuthbert S in press Processes in continentalcollision zones Preface Lithos doi101016jlithos201111020

Zheng BH Zhu WB Jahn BM Shu LS Zhang ZY Su JB 2010 Subducted Pre-cambrian oceanic crust geochemical and SrndashNd isotopic evidence from metaba-salts of the Aksu blueschist NW China Journal of the Geological Society ofLondon 167 1161ndash1170

Zhou HR Zhang CH Wang ZQ Wang JS 1998 Study on integrated stratigraphy ofPaleozoic of south Tangshan orogen Xinjiang Geology 16 291ndash298 (in Chinesewith English abstract)

Zhou D Graham SA Chang EZWang B Bradley H 2001a Paleozoic amalgamation ofthe Chinese Tian Shan evidence from a transect along the DushanzindashKuqa HighwayIn Hendrix MS Davis GA (Eds) Paleozoic and Mesozoic Tectonic Evolution ofCentral andEastern Asia FromContinental Assembly to Intracontinental DeformationGeological Society of America Memoir 194 pp 23ndash46

Zhou JY Cui BF Xiao HL Chen SZ Zhu DM 2001b The KangguertagndashHuangshancollision zone of bilateral subduction and its metallogenic model and prognosis inXinjiang China Volcanology and Mineral Resources 22 252ndash263 (in Chinese withEnglish abstract)

Zhou M-F Lesher CM Yang ZX Li JW Sun M 2004 Geochemistry and petrogen-esis of 270 Ma NindashCu-(PGE) sulfide-bearing mafic intrusions in the Huangshan dis-trict Eastern Xinjiang Northwest China implications for the tectonic evolution ofthe Central Asian orogenic belt Chemical Geology 209 233ndash257

Zhou JB Wilde SA Zhang XZ Zhao GC Zheng CQ Wang YJ Zhang XH 2009The onset of Pacific margin accretion in NE China evidence from the Heilongjianghigh-pressure metamorphic belt Tectonophysics 478 230ndash246

Zhu HC 1997a Discussion on phytoprovincial characters of Permian palynoflorasfrom Tarim Basin and their implications on the evolution of Tarim Block ActaMicropalaeontologica Sinica 14 315ndash320 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu HC 1997b The floral response to the Permian tectonic evolution in Tarim PlateActa Geoscientia Sinica 22 67ndash72 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zhu WB Zhang ZZ Shu LS Lu HF Sun JB Yang W 2008 SHRIMP UndashPb zircongeochronology of Neoproterozoic Korla mafic dykes in the northern Tarim BlockNW China implications for the long-lasting breakup process of Rodinia Journalof the Geological Society of London 165 887ndash890

Zhu YF Zhang LF Gu LB Guo X Zhou J 2005 The zircon SHRIMP chronology andtrace element geochemistry of the Carboniferous volcanic rocks in western Tian-shan Mountains Chinese Science Bulletin 50 2201ndash2212

Zhu YF Guo X Song B Zhang LF Gu LB 2009a Petrology SrndashNdndashHf isotopic geo-chemistry and zircon chronology of the Late Palaeozoic volcanic rocks in the south-western Tianshan Mountains Xinjiang NW China Journal of the Geological Societyof London 166 1085ndash1099

Zhu ZX Li JY Dong LH Zhang XF Wang KZ Wang HX Zhao TY 2009bTectonic framework and tectonic evolution of the Southern Tianshan XinjiangChina Geological Bulletin of China 28 1863ndash1870 (in Chinese with English abstract)

Zonenshain LP Kuzmin MI Natapov LM 1990 Geology of the USSR a plate tectonicsynthesis Geodynamic Series vol 21 American Geophysical Union WashingtonDC 242 pp

Zuo GC Liang GL Chen J Zheng Y Gao JB Xing DC Li SX 2006 Late Paleozoic tec-tonic framework and evolution in the Jiabaishan area eastern Tianshan MountainsNorthwest China Geological Bulletin of China 25 48ndash57 (in Chinese with Englishabstract)

  • Paleozoic multiple accretionary and collisional tectonics of the Chinese Tianshan orogenic collage
    • 1 Introduction
    • 2 Regional tectonic background and different terminologies
      • 21 Regional tectonic background
      • 22 Different terminologies
        • 3 Northern tectonic units
          • 31 Dananhu Arc in China
          • 32 North Tianshan meacutelange in China
          • 33 Central Tianshan arc
            • 331 Central Tianshan
            • 332 Northern Ili arc
                • 4 South Tianshan Units
                  • 41 High-pressureultra-high-pressurehigh-temperature rocks
                  • 42 Ophiolitic components
                  • 43 Other components
                  • 44 Tectonic settings and formation ages of the South Tianshan Units
                    • 5 The southern cratons
                      • 51 Tarim Craton
                      • 52 Karakum Craton
                      • 53 Tectonic setting along the northern margin of the Tarim and Karakum Cratons
                        • 6 Discussion
                          • 61 Geometry and structure of the South Tianshan accretionary complex and associated subduction polarities
                          • 62 Temporalndashspatial constraints on the amalgamation
                          • 63 Tectonic evolution
                          • 64 Implications for multiple accretion in the southern Altaids
                            • Acknowledgments
                            • References

Primary methods for dissociating peptides Collision-based methods: Ion trap collisional activation – itCAD Beam-type collisional activation – CAD

The Southeasterly Gale in Tianshan Grand Canyon in

Three-dimensional architecture of the Nankai accretionary prism’s … · 2004. 2. 23. · Three-dimensional architecture of the Nankai accretionary prism’s imbricate thrust zone

The Tianshan Radio Experiment for Neutrino Detectio n

7. CLAY DIAGENESIS IN THE BARBADOS ACCRETIONARY …

Study on the Catastrophic Evolution of Tianshan Road Slope

Numerical modelling of deformation within accretionary …uu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:535592/FULLTEXT01.pdf · Numerical modelling of deformation within accretionary prisms

Accretionary complexes: Recorders on Earth and possibly Mars

Company Name - Golden Destinations Plate Chicken Hilton Lanzhou Ramen Mingsha CrescentLake Tourist Attractions: Tianshan Tiañèhi URUMQI ... Tianshan Tianchi (Include boat ride) International

Collisional Modeling of Debris Disks

Archaeology in Zhuge'er - Tianshan Mt., Gobi Desert and Altai Mt

Structural overprint of a late Paleozoic accretionary

DR 2006098 Publisher: GSA Journal: GEOL: Geology · Java, Indonesia accretionary complex tectonic blocks Parkinson et al. (1998) Samana Peninsula, Dominican Republic accretionary

Accretionary lapilli and lithophysal spherulites from the ... · Accretionary lapilli and lithophysal spherulites from the Taylor Formation, Queen Maud Mountains 8430S EDMUND STUMP

Meteorite Evidence for the Accretion and Collisional ... · Scott: Accretion and Collisional Evolution of Asteroids697 697 Meteorite Evidence for the Accretion and Collisional Evolution

Post-collisional Tectonic Escapes in Indonesia

Exploring Digital Imaging and SEM Accretionary Lapilli

Accretionary lapilli: what’s holding them together?

Collisional processes in extrasolar planetesimal discs

XINJIANG TIANSHAN - UNESCO

post-collisional strongly peraluminous granites.pdf

The Collisional Penrose Process - NASA

Inclined, collisional sediment transport - Politecnico …intranet.dica.polimi.it/fileadmin/user_upload/docenti...Inclined, collisional sediment transport Diego Berzi1 and Luigi Fraccarollo2

Preservation and Recycling of Crust during Accretionary and

Water Budgets in Accretionary Wedges: A Comparison

Outboard terranes Syn to post-accretionary

Delamination in collisional orogens: Thermomechanical modelingjupiter.ethz.ch/~tgerya/reprints/2012_JGR_delamination1.pdf · 2017. 4. 10. · Delamination in collisional orogens:

Outline Ocean basin sedimentation Anatomy of a forearc: –“Old paradigm” –Forearc basins and accretionary wedges Accretionary margins: –wedges, mélanges

Numerical Simulations of Collisional Disruption of

Accretionary Tectonics of the Western Kunlun Orogen, China ...sourcedb.igg.cas.cn/cn/zjrck/200907/W020101130538853808163.pdf · Accretionary Tectonics of the Western Kunlun Orogen,

Cawood & Buchan - Accretionary Orogens

Charvet_Paleozoic Tectonics Tianshan (NW China)_Science China - Earth Sciences 2011

Collisional Plasmas

CHARACTERIZATION OF COLLISIONAL ENERGY TRANSFER IN …

OF THE BARBADOS ACCRETIONARY PRISM