The Chinese Tianshan belt of the southern Altaids has undergone a complicated geological evolution.Different theories have been proposed to explain its evolution and these are still hotly debated.The major subduction polarity and the way of accretion are the main problems.Southward,northward subduction and multiple subduction models have been proposed.This study focuses on the structural geology of two of the main faults in the region,the South Tianshan Fault and the Nikolaev Line.The dip direction in the Muzhaerte valley is southward and lineations all point towards the NW.Two shear sense motions have been observed within both of these fault zones,a sinistral one,and a dextral one,the latter with an age of 236-251 Ma.Structural analyses on the fault zones show that subduction has been northward rather than southward.The two shear sense directions indicate that the Yili block was first dragged along towards the east due to the clockwise rotation of the Tarim block.After the Tarim block stopped rotating,the Yili block still kept going eastward,inducing the dextral shear senses within the fault zones.
Mark ScheltensLifei ZhangWenjiao XiaoJinjiang Zhang
The geological characteristics of ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic belts formed by deep subduction of oceanic crust are summarized in this paper. Oceanic-type UHP metamorphic belt is characterized by its protolithic assemblage of typical oceanic crust, the peak metamorphic temperature <600℃, P-T path undergoing blueschist facies during prograde and retrograde metamorphic evolution, respectively, with low geothermal gradient of cold subduction. The further study of oceanic-type UHP metamorphic belt is very significant for constructing metamorphic reaction series of cold subduction zone, for understanding how aqueous fluids were transported into deep mantle and for classifying the types of UHP metamorphism in cold subduction zone. The uplift and exhumation mechanism of oceanic UHP metamorphic rocks is one of the most challenging problems in the study of UHP metamorphism, which is very important for understanding the geodynamic mechanism of solid Earth. As a traveler subducted into the mantle depth and then uplifted to the surface, oceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts witness the bulk process from the subduction to exhumation and is an ideal target to study the geochemical behavior and cycling of elements in subduction zones. The tectonic evolution of one convergent orogenic belt can be usually divided into two stages of oceanic subduction and followed continental subduction and collision, and the two best-established examples of orogenic belts are Alps and Himalaya. Therefore, the study of oceanic-type UHP metamorphic belt is the frontier of the current plate tectonic theory. As two case studies, the current status and existing problems of oceanic-type UHP metamorphic belts in Southwest Tianshan and North Qaidam, NW China, are reviewed in this paper.
Coesite is an indicator mineral of ultra-high-pressure metamorphism. Since coesite was reported in the Habutengsu Valley, we have also found it in eclogite and schist from the Atantayi Valley in the southwestern Tianshan, China. Petrographic and micro-Raman analyses were carried out for the Atantayi metamorphic rocks and coesite was recognized in the predominant rock types, i.e. schist and eclogite, from three sections. The coesite-bearing schist consists mainly of garnet, Na-Ca amphibole, quartz, white mica and albite; the coesite-bearing eclogite is mainly composed of omphacite, garnet, glaucophane and zoisite. The coesite occurs as various mineral inclusions within porphyroblastic garnet. Findings of coesite in eclogite and associated schist indicate not only the regional in situ formation of the Atantayi ultra-high-pressure eclogite, but also the large areal extent of ultra-high-pressure metamorphism in southwestern Tianshan, extending up to 10 km north-south and 60-80 km east-west.
