Structural relationships and kinematics of the Neoarchean Dengfeng forearc and accretionary complexes, southern North China craton

Research Article| November 27, 2018 Structural relationships and kinematics of the Neoarchean Dengfeng forearc and accretionary complexes, southern North China craton Bo Huang; Bo Huang 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Timothy Kusky; Timothy Kusky † 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China2Three Gorges Research Center for Geo-hazards, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China3Department of Geological Engineering, Middle East Technical University, TR-06531 Ankara, Turkey †Corresponding author: tkusky@gmail.com. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Lu Wang; Lu Wang 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Ali Polat; Ali Polat 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China4Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario N9B 3P4, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dong Fu; Dong Fu 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Brian Windley; Brian Windley 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China5Department of Geology, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hao Deng; Hao Deng 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Junpeng Wang Junpeng Wang 1State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, Center for Global Tectonics, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (2019) 131 (5-6): 966–996. https://doi.org/10.1130/B31938.1 Article history received: 03 Oct 2017 rev-recd: 13 Jun 2018 accepted: 10 Aug 2018 first online: 27 Nov 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Bo Huang, Timothy Kusky, Lu Wang, Ali Polat, Dong Fu, Brian Windley, Hao Deng, Junpeng Wang; Structural relationships and kinematics of the Neoarchean Dengfeng forearc and accretionary complexes, southern North China craton. GSA Bulletin 2018;; 131 (5-6): 966–996. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B31938.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract The ca. 2.54–2.51 Ga Dengfeng greenstone belt in the southern section of the Central orogenic belt of the North China craton consists of structurally juxtaposed slices of meta-ultramafic, metamafic, and felsic igneous rocks, metasedimentary rocks, including minor banded iron formation. The complex was metamorphosed to greenschist to amphibolite facies at ca. 2.5 Ga and intruded by ca. 2.50–2.42 Ga mafic and felsic plutons/dikes. Detailed field mapping and structural analyses show that the different lithostructural units, including a metamafic-dominant unit and a metasedimentary-dominant unit, are in tectonic contact, with complex thrust imbrication and multiple brittle and ductile deformation. The metasedimentary-dominant unit consists of coherent schist-metabasalt sequences, metaturbidites, and chaotic mélanges that are characterized by typical duplex structures and block-in-matrix fabrics, closely resembling the lithostratigraphy and structural patterns of Phanerozoic accretionary complexes. Together with distinctive and diagnostic geochemical signatures of metabasalts, sanukitoid-like metadiorite, and syntectonic adakitic sills/dikes, we interpret the Dengfeng greenstone belt as Neoarchean forearc and accretionary complexes consisting of dismembered forearc crustal sheets in the west and accreted oceanic plate stratigraphy in the east that were structurally imbricated at a convergent plate margin. The kinematic indicators and the spatial configurations of different tectonic units suggest a near-southwest-dipping intra-oceanic subduction zone beneath the arc in the Central orogenic belt, which later evolved into an arc-continent collision with the Eastern block. The accreted arc and accretionary prism are unconformably overlain by a clastic sedimentary wedge, the lower part of which has a maximum depositional age of ca. 2.45 Ga and is interpreted as a foreland basin sequence related to this collision. Documentation of the Neoarchean Dengfeng forearc and accretionary complexes demonstrates that ca. 2.5 Ga intra-oceanic subduction, oceanic plate stratigraphy accretion, and arc-continent collisional events occurred in the southern section of the Central orogenic belt of the North China craton. The accretion of the 2.54–2.51 Ga arc to the continental margin of the Eastern block marks an early episode of mountain building in the Central orogenic belt, which played an important role in the lateral growth of the North China craton. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.