What is it about?
Rocks in northwestern China that formed in tectonic collision about 466 million years ago reveal different relationships between tectonic plates than previously thought. Our analytical work confirms previous ages and degree of metamorphism for rocks in the Beishan Mountain belt which preserves now exposed, deep-rooted keel of the once grand mountain range. These rocks are called eclogites, which are rare and form in specific tectonic environment in deep crust, where pressures are very high but temperatures remain unbalanced with the surrounding crust for short periods of time. Taking into account field/physical relationship between the eclogites and the surrounding rocks we interpret these rocks to formed in the process of major continental collision, rather than minor tectonic accretion as previously thought.
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Why is it important?
In our work we focused on understanding the origin of the eclogites in the Beishan Mountain belt. We established a minimum and maximum ages for their formation, and replicated previous analyses to establish certainty. We incorporated a study of field relationships between the eclogites and surrounding rocks as these harbor important clues to understanding the processes that lead to their formation, upon which we based our conclusions.
Perspectives
The aim of this publication was to explore the hypothesis of continental margin subduction during Ordovician and how such interpretation of rare high pressure rocks can influence tectonic model for the Beishan mountain belt in northwestern China.
Mr Wanchese Mateusz Saktura
University of Wollongong
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Continental origin of the Gubaoquan eclogite and implications for evolution of the Beishan Orogen, Central Asian Orogenic Belt, NW China, Lithos, December 2017, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.lithos.2017.10.004.
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