2018/05/03 by Chloé Loury, Yann Rolland, Stéphane Guillot +9 · 27 citations
Computer Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Accretionary wedge #Blueschist #Eclogite #Facies #Geochemistry #Geochemistry and Geologic Mapping #Geological and Geochemical Analysis #Geology #Geomorphology #Glaucophane #Greenschist #High-pressure geophysics and materials #Mafic #Metamorphic facies #Metamorphic rock #Petrology #Phengite #Seismology #Structural basin #Subduction #Tectonics
paper · doi:10.1111/jmg.12423
published in Journal of Metamorphic Geology 36(8), 959-985 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2018/05/03 · crossref created 2018/05/03 · openalex created_date 2018/05/17 · crossref issued 2018/06/08 · crossref published 2018/06/08 · crossref published-online 2018/06/08 · crossref published-print 2018/10/01 · crossref deposited 2024/07/06 · crossref indexed 2026/08/04 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract The South Tien Shan ( STS ) belt results from the last collision event in the western Central Asian Orogenic Belt ( CAOB ). Understanding its formation is of prime importance in the general framework of the CAOB . The Atbashi Range preserves high‐ P (HP) rocks along the STS suture, but still, its global metamorphic evolution remains poorly constrained. Several HP units have been identified: (a) a HP tectonic mélange including boudins of mafic eclogites in a sedimentary matrix, (b) a large (>100 km long) high‐ P metasedimentary unit ( HPMU ) and (c) a lower blueschist facies accretionary prism. Raman Spectroscopy on carbonaceous material combined with phengite and chlorite multiequilibria and isochemical phase diagram modelling indicates that the HPMU recorded homogeneous P–T conditions of 23–25 kbar and 560–570°C along the whole unit. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating on phengite from the HPMU ranges between 328 and 319 Ma at regional scale. These ages are interpreted as (re‐) crystallization ages of phengite during T max conditions at a pressure range of 20–25 kbar. Thermobarometry on samples from the HP tectonic mélange provides similar metamorphic peak conditions. Thermobarometry on the blueschist to lower greenschist facies accretionary prism indicates that it underwent P–T conditions of 5–6 kbar and 290–340°C, highlighting a 17–20 kbar pressure gap between the HPMU ‐tectonic mélange units and the accretionary prism. Comparison with available geochronological data suggests a very short time span between the prograde path (340 Ma), HP metamorphic peak (330 Ma), the T max (328–319 Ma) and the final exhumation of the HPMU (303–295 Ma). Extrusion of the HPMU , accommodated by a basal thrust and an upper detachment, was driven by buoyant forces from 70–75 km up to 60 km depth, which directly followed continental subduction and detachment of the HPMU . At crustal depths, extrusion was controlled by collisional tectonics up to shallow levels. Lithological homogeneity of the HPMU and its continental‐derived character from the North Tien Shan suggest this unit corresponds to the hyper‐extended continental margin of the Kazakh continent, subducted southward below the north continental active margin of the Tarim craton. Integration of the available geological data allows us to propose a general geodynamic scenario for Tien Shan during the Carboniferous with a combination of (a) N‐dipping subduction below the Kazakh margin of Middle Tien Shan until 390–340 Ma and (b) S‐dipping subduction of remaining Turkestan marginal basins between 340 and 320 Ma.