Yigui Han

TL;DR: Zircon U-Pb and Hf isotopic data from the northern margins of the two cratons and neighbors have revealed comparable eHf(t)-time patterns as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: A detrital zircon U-Pb and Lu-Hf isotopic study was carried out in the Middle Silurian to Late Carboniferous sedimentary strata of the northwestern Tarim Craton in order to understand accretionary processes in the southern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. Detrital zircons from these strata yielded U-Pb ages clustering around 2.8–2.3 Ga, 2.0–1.7 Ga, 1.3–0.9 Ga, 880–600 Ma, and 500–400 Ma, with age populations and Hf isotopic signatures matching those of magmatic rocks in the Tarim Craton and the Central Tianshan Block. Abundant 500–400 Ma detrital zircons most likely reflect deposition in a retroarc foreland basin inboard of an Andean-type magmatic arc to the north, supporting the northern Tarim-Central Tianshan connection during early Paleozoic time. The absence of 380–310 Ma zircon population in the Carboniferous siliciclastic rocks suggests that the Central Tianshan Block may have been separated from the Tarim Craton in the Early Devonian, caused by the interarc/back-arc opening of the South Tianshan Ocean. We propose an accretionary orogenic model switching from advancing to retreating mode during Paleozoic time in the southwestern part of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. This transition most likely occurred coevally with the rifting of Southeast Asian blocks from the northeastern margin of Gondwana.

TL;DR: The Central Asian orogenic belt formed by accretion subsequent to the contraction of the paleo-Asian Ocean, and its southeastern segment terminated along the Solonker suture zone, amalgamating the Mongolian arcs and the North China craton by the end of the Early Triassic as mentioned in this paper.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed that the switch from a convergent to a divergent regime was triggered by the arrival of the Tarim mantle plume in the latest Carboniferous, which possibly had profound effects on regional sedimentation and exhumation of (ultra-)high-pressure rocks in the orogenic belt.

TL;DR: In this article, detrital zircons from sandstones in the North Tianshan belt have been used to study the evolution of the Junggar ocean during early Paleozoic to late Carboniferous time.