Late Paleozoic tectonics of the NW Tarim Block: Insights from zircon geochronology and geochemistry in Xinjiang, China

Yang, Baozhong, Lv, Ao, Zhang, Xiangrong, Zhou, Yejin, Zhou, Wenxiao and Chi Fru, Ernest ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2673-0565 2024. Late Paleozoic tectonics of the NW Tarim Block: Insights from zircon geochronology and geochemistry in Xinjiang, China. Minerals 14 (12) , 1288. 10.3390/min14121288

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Abstract

The Late Paleozoic strata on the northwestern margin of the Tarim Block provide valuable insights into the subduction and collision processes that formed the Southwest Tianshan Orogenic Belt. This study integrates detrital zircon U-Pb dating and sandstone geochemical analysis of the Balikelike and Kalundaer formations to examine sedimentary provenance and tectonic settings during the Cisuralian–Guadalupian Epoch in the Keping area on the northwestern margin of the Tarim Block. Three of five Precambrian detrital zircon U-Pb age populations, 2500–2300 and 2000–1800 Ma and 900–600 Ma, are likely related to the fragmentation of the Columbia supercontinent and Rodinia’s assembly, respectively. Two Paleozoic detrital zircons, 500–380 Ma, are associated with Paleozoic magmatism. Among them, ~295 Ma zircons are associated with post-collisional extension and emplacement of the Tarim Large Igneous Province. Geochemical analysis of sandstones, coupled with tectonic reconstruction, indicates a passive continental margin setting in the northwestern margin of the Tarim Block during the Silurian Period, later transitioned to a foreland basin from the Pennsylvanian to the Guadalupian Epochs. The crustal transformation from the Middle-late Devonian to Early Mississippian marked the closure of the South Tianshan Ocean (STO), involving a soft collision and significant uplift, with major orogenesis occurring in the Late Guadalupian. Five key stages are identified in the evolution of the foreland basin: (1) Middle-late Devonian to Early Mississippian initiation (remnant ocean basin stage); (2) Late Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian early stage; (3) Late Pennsylvanian to Early Cisuralian middle stage; (4) the Late Cisuralian stage; and (5) the terminal Guadalupian stage. These findings provide new constraints on when STO closed and propose an innovative foreland basin evolution model during the late post-collisional phase from the Late Mississippian to Guadalupian. Collectively, the data advance our understanding of the tectonic processes that shaped the northwestern Tarim Block, with broader implications for Paleozoic geodynamics.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Earth and Environmental Sciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, Start Date: 2024-12-19
Publisher:	MDPI
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	10 January 2025
Date of Acceptance:	17 December 2024
Last Modified:	10 Jan 2025 16:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/175195

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