Late Neoarchean magmatic – metamorphic event and crustal stabilization in the North China Craton

Abstract

The ca. 2.5 Ga as the time boundary between the Archean and the Proterozoic eons is a landmark, indicating the most important continental crust evolving stage of the Earth, that is, the global cratonization or the formation of supercraton(s) that was unseen before and is unrepeated in the following history of the Earth's formation and evolution. The North China Craton (NCC) is one of the best recorders of the ca. 2.5 Ga event, and therefore studies in the thorough understanding of early Precambrian continental evolution are continuous.

The period from 2.8 to 2.6 Ga is the major crustal growth period of the NCC and formed seven micro-blocks. All the micro-blocks in the NCC were surrounded by 2.6 to 2.54 Ga greenstone belts. The clear geological presentations are as follows: (1) Archaic basement rocks in North China (various micro-blocks) experienced strong partial melting and migmatization. The granitoid rocks derived from crustal partial melting include potassium, TTG and monzonitic granitoids, which come, respectively, from continental crust (sedimentary rocks with TTG gneisses), juvenile crust (mafic rocks with TTG gneisses) or mixed crust; (2) the BIF-bearing supracrustal rocks are mainly distribute in greenstone belts. The lithologic associations in the greenstone belts within the NCC are broadly similar, belonging to volcano-sedimentary sequences, with common bimodal volcanic rocks (basalt and dacite) interlayered with minor amounts of komatiites in the lower part, and calc-alkalic volcanic rocks (basalt, andesite and felsic rocks) in the upper part; (3) nearly all old rocks of >2.5 Ga underwent ∼2.52 to 2.5 Ga metamorphism of amphibolite–granulite facies. Most metamorphosed rocks show high-temperature-ultra-high-temperature (HT–UHT) characteristics and record anticlockwise P–T paths, albeit a small number of granulites seemingly underwent high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism and record clockwise P–T paths; (4) ∼2.5 Ga mafic dikes (amphibolites), granitic dikes (veins) and syenitic–ultramafic dikes developed across these archaic basements and were strongly deformed or un-deformed; (5) the extensive 2.52 to 2.48 Ga low-grade metamorphic supracrustal covers has been recognized in eastern, northern and central parts of the NCC, which are commonly composed of bi-modal volcanic rocks and sedimentary rocks.

The above mentioned ∼2.5 Ga geological rocks and their characters imply that the seven micro-blocks have been united through amalgamation to form the NCC. The metamorphosed late Neoarchean greenstone belts, as syn-formed mobile belts, welded the micro-blocks at the end of the Neoarchean. However, the metamorphic thermal grades of the greenstone belts are lower than those of the high-grade terranes within the micro-blocks, suggesting that the latter might have developed under a higher geothermal gradient than the former. Besides, the greenstone belts surround the various micro-blocks in the late Neoarchean when both the old continental crust and the oceanic crust were hotter. The subduction during the amalgamation, if it happened, must have been much smaller in scale as compared to those in the Phanerozoic plate tectonic regime, and all stages occurred at crust-scale instead of lithosphere-scale or mantle-scale. This is why most rocks record HT-UHT and anti-clockwise metamorphism, while only a few samples record high-pressure granulite facies metamorphism with clockwise P–T paths.

The micro-block amalgamation was accompanied by extensive crust partial melting and granitization, which finally gave rise to the stabilization of the NCC. Except for the vast granitoid intrusions, mafic-syenitic dike swarms and sedimentary covers are also landmarks of cratonization. The ca. 2.5 Ga cratonization is a global epoch-making geological event, although the accomplishment of cratonization in various cratons is somewhat different in time. Cratonization declared the formation and stabilization of global-scale supercratons or cratonic groups coupling with lithosphere, which was followed by a “silent period” with rare tectonic-thermal action lasting 150 to 200 Ma (from 2.5 Ga – 2.3 or 2.35 Ga), and then followed by the Great Oxidation Event (GOE).