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[Display omitted] • A regional geology systematic review based on cross-sections and space–time diagrams. • The Dom Feliciano Belt orogenic cycle records pre-, syn- and post-collisional stages. • PT-paths are characteristic of hinterland and foreland tectonic domains. • Northern DFB foreland rifting contrasts with central DFB active margin in the Tonian. • The symmetric schismogenesis of West Gondwana Orogen models can be conciliated. The Dom Feliciano Belt evolution is reviewed based on cross-sections, space–time diagrams, P-T paths, and Sr–Nd isotopic data of pre-collisional metaigneous rocks. The belt is divided into northern, central and southern sectors, subdivided into tectonic domains, developed at Neoproterozoic pre-, syn- and post-collisional stages. The northern sector foreland pre-collisional setting represents a rift, with tholeiitic (meta)volcanic rocks (∼800 Ma) chronocorrelated to hinterland intermediate and acidic orthogneisses of high-K calc-alkaline arc signature. In contrast, the central sector records a complete section from the forearc towards the back-arc region during pre-collisional times. In the western domain, ophiolites (∼920 Ma) are associated with arc-related orthogneisses and metavolcanic rocks (880–830 Ma; 760–730 Ma). At back-arc position, continental arc-related magmatism (800–780 Ma) is registered by hinterland orthogneisses and central foreland metavolcanic rocks. Ophiolites on the hinterland opposite side comprise two compositional groups, with N-MORB and supra subduction signature, interpreted as a back-arc basin record (∼750 Ma). The pre-Neoproterozoic basement of the whole belt is correlated with the Nico Perez Terrane and Luis Alves Block (Archean to Mesoproterozoic, with Congo Craton affinity). This contrasts with the Piedra Alta Terrane (Rio de La Plata Craton, only Paleoproterozoic), westernmost Uruguay. The suture between the Piedra Alta and Nico Perez terranes is correlated with the suture zone in the westernmost central sector. Transpression affected both foreland and hinterland during collision (660–640 Ma), with high-T/low-P hinterland progressive exhumation, whilst foreland low- to medium-grade correlated sequences record underthrusting. Post-collisional processes included magmatism throughout the belt (640–580 Ma), strain partitioning along strike-slip shear zones, and foreland basin fill. Late tectono-metamorphic and magmatic processes (560–540 Ma) were attributed to the Kalahari Craton collision. Arc magmatism migration due to subduction angle variations suggests modern-style plate tectonics during Gondwana amalgamation. Diachronism and kinematic inversion are characteristic of an oblique convergent multi-plate orogenic system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four Tethyan ocean basins are recognised in Asia, the Proto-Tethys (Late Proterozoic - Silurian), Palaeo-Tethys (Middle Devonian - Late Triassic), Meso-Tethys (Middle Permian - Late Cretaceous) and Ceno-Tethys (late Middle Triassic - Eocene). Multi-disciplinary data, including ages of pelagic sediments, ocean plate stratigraphy, seamounts, ophiolites, blueschists, eclogites in accretionary complexes, volcanic arc and magmatic rocks found along suture zones of the Tethyan oceans are described and used to date the opening and closure of these oceans. The evolution of the Tethyan ocean basins in Asia illustrates that Asia has been a giant convergent zone for more than 500 million years and the Phanerozoic construction and evolution of Asia involved the opening and closure of Tethyan ocean basins and the collision and accretion of Gondwana-derived continental blocks and the Indian Craton. Subduction processes, arc and back-arc basin generation, and continent-continent and arc-continent collisions led to the principal orogenic events, basin development and related mineral and energy resource deposits recorded in Asia. Three major orogenic belts are recognised in Asia, the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, that relates to the evolution of the Palaeo-Asia Ocean, and the Tethyan (Tethysides) Orogenic Belt and the Alpine-Himalayan Orogenic Belt which relate to the evolution of Tethyan ocean basins. The principal Tethyan basin related orogenies in Asia are the Bhimphedian Orogeny (Ordovician-Silurian) that reflects the collision of major Asian continental blocks ("Asian-Hun Superterrane") with Gondwana, the Indosinian (Cimmerian) Orogeny (Permian-Triassic) resulting from Palaeo-Tethyan subduction processes, collisions of Asian blocks and collision of the Cimmerian continent with Asia, and the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogeny (Cretaceous-Palaeogene) caused by subduction of the Meso- and Ceno-Tethys oceans and the Lhasa-Asia and India-Asia collisions. [Display omitted] • Proto-, Palaeo-, Meso-, and Ceno-Tethys oceans are recognised in Asia. • Orogeny was driven by subduction/closure of Tethyan oceans and collision of blocks. • Tethyan & Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belts relate to evolution of Tethyan oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pressure-temperature-time (P-T-t) evolution of metamorphic rocks is directly related to geodynamics as different tectonic settings vary in their thermal architecture. The shapes of P-T paths and thermobaric ratios (T/P) of metamorphic rocks have been extensively used to distinguish different tectonic domains. However, the role of metamorphic timescales in constraining tectonic settings remains underutilized. This is because of the poorly understood relationship between them, and the difficulty in accurately constraining the onset and end of a particular metamorphic event. Here, we show why and how the intrinsic relationship between thermal regime, rheology and rate of motion controlled by the heat, mass and momentum conservation laws translate to differences in heating, cooling, burial, exhumation rates of metamorphic rocks and thereby, to the duration of metamorphism. We compare the P-T-t paths of the orogenic metamorphic rocks of different ages and in particular, analyse their retrograde cooling rates and durations. The results show that cooling rates of the metamorphic rocks are variable but are dominantly <50 °C/Ma during most of the Precambrian before increasing by an order of magnitude (>100 °C/Ma) during the late Neoproterozoic to Phanerozoic. To seek what controlled this secular change in metamorphic cooling rates, we use thermomechanical modelling to calculate the P-T-t paths of crustal rocks in different types of continental orogenic settings and compare them with the rock record. The modelled P-T-t paths show that lithospheric peel-back driven orogenic settings, which are postulated as an orogenic mode operating under the hotter mantle conditions of late Archean to early Proterozoic, are characterised by longer durations of metamorphism and slower cooling rates (a few 10s of °C/Ma) as compared to the modern orogenic settings (a few 100s of °C/Ma) operating under relatively colder mantle conditions. This is because peel-back orogens feature: (1) hot lithospheres with very high crustal geotherms being sustained by high mantle heat-flow and profuse magmatism, and (2) distributed deformation patterns that limit vertical extrusion (exhumation) of the metamorphic rocks along localized deformation zones and instead, trap them in the orogenic core for a long time. In contrast, modern orogens mostly involve colder lithospheres and allow rapid exhumation through localized deformation, which facilitates faster cooling of hot, exhumed metamorphic rocks in a colder ambience. Thus, we propose that the secular change in metamorphic cooling rates indicates a changing regime of orogenesis and thereby, of plate tectonics through time. Predominance of the slower metamorphic cooling rates before the Neoproterozoic indicate the occurrences of peel-back orogenesis and truncated hot (collisional) orogenesis during that time, while the appearance of faster cooling rates since the late Neoproterozoic indicates the transition to modern style of orogenesis. A transition between these orogenic styles also accounts for the prolonged longevity (>100 million years) of many Precambrian orogenic belts as compared to the Phanerozoic ones. This study underscores the strength of timescales in combination with P-T paths to distinguish tectonic settings of different styles and ages. [Display omitted] • Metamorphic cooling rates show a secular change. • Cooling rates were slower until the late Neoproterozoic • Changing styles of orogenesis explains this change in cooling rates. • Distributed deformation in Precambrian orogens account for the slowercooling • Localized deformation in modern orogens facilitate faster cooling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pressure–Temperature–time–deformation evolution of the high- to ultra-high-pressure units of the Western Alps has been progressively refined in the last 40years, leading to several paradigm shifts in the understanding of orogenesis. This set of information, combined with Cretaceous–Tertiary plate kinematic reconstructions and Mesozoic palaeogeography, indicates that the Western Alps represent the amalgamation of a Cretaceous and an Eocene orogen, which developed at the expense of the Adriatic and European rifted margins, respectively. In the Cretaceous, NNE-directed drift of the Adriatic plate, parallel to the inherited Jurassic structural trends, led to the development of a highly oblique subduction boundary. In this setting, the Canavese Zone and parts of the Sesia Zone, derived from the hyper-extended Adriatic margin, underwent deformation and metamorphism at conditions ranging from sub-greenschist to eclogite facies. A Lower Eocene switch to NNW-directed motion, perpendicular to the rift-related Jurassic structural trends, culminated in the collision between the proto-Alps and the Briançonnais block at ca. 44Ma. As a result, the Briançonnais Domain and parts of its hyper-extended margin, preserved in the (U)HP Piemonte Units, were accreted to the orogen. Continued convergence was subsequently accommodated by subduction of the more external Valaisan basin and of the thinned European margin. The arrival of thick European continental crust at the subduction zone at ca. 35–30Ma marked the onset of the final continental collision. To a first order, the orogen grew through the progressive episodic accretion of units located towards north-westerly positions. Accretion of subducting units at the front of the orogen was coeval with kinematic reworking of tectonic contacts in the hangingwall units, locally resulting in renewed deformation/metamorphism. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]