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Research ArticleArticles

Architecture and evolution of accretionary orogens in the Altaids collage: The early Paleozoic West Junggar (NW China)

Flavien Choulet, Michel Faure, Dominique Cluzel, Yan Chen, Wei Lin, Bo Wang and Bor-ming Jahn
American Journal of Science December 2012, 312 (10) 1098-1145; DOI: https://doi.org/10.2475/10.2012.02
Flavien Choulet
*Université d'Orléans, ISTO, UMR 7327, 45071, 1A rue de la Férollerie, Orléans la Source Cedex 2, France and CNRS/INSU, ISTO, UMR 7327, 45071 Orléans, France and BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327, BP 36009, 45060 Orléans, France
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  • For correspondence: flavien.choulet@univ-orleans.fr
Michel Faure
*Université d'Orléans, ISTO, UMR 7327, 45071, 1A rue de la Férollerie, Orléans la Source Cedex 2, France and CNRS/INSU, ISTO, UMR 7327, 45071 Orléans, France and BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327, BP 36009, 45060 Orléans, France
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Dominique Cluzel
**Pôle Pluri-disciplinaire de la Matière et de l'Environnement-EA 3325, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, BP R4, 98851 Noumea cedex, New Caledonia
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Yan Chen
*Université d'Orléans, ISTO, UMR 7327, 45071, 1A rue de la Férollerie, Orléans la Source Cedex 2, France and CNRS/INSU, ISTO, UMR 7327, 45071 Orléans, France and BRGM, ISTO, UMR 7327, BP 36009, 45060 Orléans, France
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Wei Lin
***State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 9825, Beijing 100029, China
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Bo Wang
§Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
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Bor-ming Jahn
§§Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
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Abstract

Understanding the development and evolution of accretionary orogens is crucial for characterizing continental crust growth in time and space. In the Altaids tectonic collage of Central Asia, conflicting geodynamic models have been proposed about the Paleozoic evolution, during which juvenile continental crust has been extensively formed. This study focuses on West Junggar (NW China), a key region that has not been extensively studied yet. A multidisciplinary approach, including detrital zircon provenance study, geochemistry, and field structural analysis, provides new constraints on the evolution of three Early Paleozoic units of West Junggar. Oceanic subduction predominates in Early Paleozoic time, as indicated by ophiolitic mélanges, fore-arc volcaniclastic turbidites and magmatic arc suites. However, the development of an olistostrome supplied by a sub-contemporaneous carbonate platform, the occurrence of continental molasse, and the chronology and geochemistry of magmatic events reveal interruptions of subduction. Discrete collisions of volcanic arcs and micro-continent are inferred from the tectonic structure of the belt, which displays allochthonous units rooted in the suture zone. Early Paleozoic magmatic and sedimentary rocks of West Junggar bear some resemblance to contemporaneous analogues in Eastern Kazakhstan, and suggest a lateral connection. On the basis of these new results, we propose a geodynamic evolution in four steps: 1) Early to Middle Ordovician intra-oceanic subduction forming island arcs, 2) Late Ordovician tectonic accretion of island arcs against the Kazakhstan continental margin, 3) Early to Middle Silurian resumption of subduction and active continental margin magmatism, and 4) Late Silurian–Early Devonian micro-continent collision. This scenario, consistent with the formation of the Kazakhstan Block, supports a model of multiple episodic accretions for the Altaids tectonic collage rather than a continuous continental margin evolution. These results also suggest that, in Central Asia, continental crust growth results from alternating vertical and horizontal growth episodes throughout the Paleozoic.

  • West Junggar
  • Early Paleozoic
  • Hf isotopes
  • U-Pb geochronology
  • detrital zircon
  • accretionary orogens
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American Journal of Science: 312 (10)
American Journal of Science
Vol. 312, Issue 10
1 Dec 2012
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Architecture and evolution of accretionary orogens in the Altaids collage: The early Paleozoic West Junggar (NW China)
Flavien Choulet, Michel Faure, Dominique Cluzel, Yan Chen, Wei Lin, Bo Wang, Bor-ming Jahn
American Journal of Science Dec 2012, 312 (10) 1098-1145; DOI: 10.2475/10.2012.02

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Architecture and evolution of accretionary orogens in the Altaids collage: The early Paleozoic West Junggar (NW China)
Flavien Choulet, Michel Faure, Dominique Cluzel, Yan Chen, Wei Lin, Bo Wang, Bor-ming Jahn
American Journal of Science Dec 2012, 312 (10) 1098-1145; DOI: 10.2475/10.2012.02
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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • INTRODUCTION
    • GEOLOGICAL SETTING OF THE EARLY PALEOZOIC WEST JUNGGAR
    • NEW STRUCTURAL OBSERVATIONS AND INFERED ARCHITECTURE
    • GEOCHEMISTRY AND GEOCHRONOLOGY: SAMPLING AND RESULTS
    • DISCUSSION—THE EARLY PALEOZOIC EVOLUTION OF WEST JUNGGAR
    • CONCLUSION
    • ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
    • APPENDIX
    • REFERENCES
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Keywords

  • West Junggar
  • Early Paleozoic
  • Hf isotopes
  • U-Pb geochronology
  • detrital zircon
  • accretionary orogens

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