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The Tampanchi Ultramafic–Mafic Complex (TUMC), located in the central segment of the Cordillera Real (Ecuador), is an oval-shaped intrusive body of approximately 18 km2 emplaced within a Cretaceous metavolcano-sedimentary sequence. Field investigations, zircon geochronology, mineral and whole-rock elemental and isotopic compositions constrain the nature of the parental magma as well as the physical conditions of emplacement, age of crystallization and tectonic setting of formation of the TUMC. The Complex consist of wehrlite and olivine-hornblende clinopyroxenite crosscut by hornblende gabbros and minor dikes/veins of diorite and granite. Hornblendites formed mainly at the contact between the olivine-hornblende clinopyroxenite and the intrusive hornblende gabbros by reaction-replacement processes. Geochemical data for both the wehrlites and pyroxenites define a trend with dominantly olivine and clinopyroxene accumulation, whereas a second trend is formed by hornblende gabbros that differentiated to leucocratic rocks, with amphibole as the dominant fractionating mafic phase. The trace elements show enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements, depletion in high field strength elements (Nb, Zr, Ti) and P, and enrichment in Pb, Sr and Ba relative to primitive mantle, indicating subduction-related parental liquids. The Nd and Sr isotopic composition suggests a uniform mantle source metasomatized by subducted crustal components. Thermobarometric estimations constrain emplacement and crystallization at intermediate to shallow continental crust levels (∼12.5 km depth) of hydrated basaltic melt under oxygen fugacity conditions above the nickel-nickel oxide buffer (ΔNNO = 0 to 2). Zircon SHRIMP U-Th-Pb age data constrain crystallization at 75.1–76.0 Ma, with scarce inherited zircons that record limited recycling of the Cordillera Real basement. These results confirm magmatic arc activity at the continental margin of South America during the late Cretaceous as a result of an E-dipping subduction zone prior to the accretion of the Ecuadorian-Colombian-Caribbean oceanic plateau, and support simultaneous double subduction at the northwest margin of South America during the Cretaceous. This work was funded in the frame of the project “Proyecto Junior PIJ-16-04 (VIPS-EPN)” of the Escuela Politécnica Nacional to F. Villares. J.A.Proenza and A. Garcia-Casco appreciate financial support from Spanish MICINN project PID2019-105625RB-C21. This is the IBERSIMS publication N° 86.

Terranes are passengers within drifting oceanic plate, and ride with the plate to subduction plate boundaries. Although oceanic lithosphere readily subducts into the mantle at the plate boundary, terranes may resist sinking or not, depending on a variety of controlling factors that are not very well understood. Further, the tectonic development of terranes prior to their arrival at a subduction zone is not well documented. We performed numerical experiments to explore these unknowns of terrane geodynamics during the whole pre- to post-collisional period. Our analyses reveal that terranes can undergo considerable extension prior to their arrival to subduction plate boundaries owing to the pull force exerted by sinking oceanic slabs. Increasing terrane crustal thickness, decreasing terrane width or imposed convergence velocity, and an intra-oceanic subduction setting aggrandizes the pre-collisional terrane extension. The numerical models identify increasing terrane crustal thickness and width, and decreasing imposed convergence velocity as factors that promote terrane accretion. Additionally, having a continental overriding plate at the subduction boundary increases the propensity for terrane accretion. Some intra-oceanic subduction experiments demonstrate ablative subduction and subduction polarity reversal events in connection with terrane collisions/subduction. We compare our models to the evolution of a controversial Tethyan terrane, the Nilufer oceanic plateau. Our models suggest that the Nilufer terrane may have undergone pre-collisional extension owing to the pull of the sinking Tethys Ocean plate. Further, uninterrupted subduction of the Tethys Ocean, despite the accretion of the Nilufer terrane, is illustrated by our results which have implications on other regions along the Tethyan orogenic belt.

The latest multichannel seismic data from the Yap subduction zone is presented to investigate the Caroline Ridge fault system, developed by faulting and bending processes within the incoming oceanic plateau. We reveal that horst and graben structures exist along the entire incoming Caroline Ridge adjacent to the trench and that pervasive bending-related faults trending ~N30°E have developed subparallel to the trench. However, the widths of the horst and graben structures decrease gradually from north to south. The two-stage ancient abyssal hill fabrics overlap the incoming Caroline Ridge. Abyssal hill faults trending ~N65°W present large trench-ridge angles (85–90°); in the southern segment, abyssal hill faults trending ~N70°E have relatively low trench-ridge angles (~35–40°). From the Caroline Ridge to the horst and graben structures, the topography decreases, and slump bodies with deformed internal reflections have developed above an irregular reflector. Little stable pelagic sediment with horizontal reflectors accumulates on the horst and graben structures, suggesting that the faulting and bending processes involve long and intense tectonic processes that affect the sedimentary environment. The sedimentary strata and fault distributions differ between the North and South Caroline Ridge, which is primarily attributable to the different rifting processes. Furthermore, we propose that N65°W-trending ancient faults sufficiently decrease the yield strength of the incoming Caroline Ridge to facilitate the bending-related faulting. During subduction, the incoming North Caroline Ridge that has a large degree of rifting and the Sorol Trough, which has a thin crust, may resist less flexural bending and generate the wide horst and graben structures. The ancient faults and rifting model of incoming oceanic plateaus play a significant role in bending-related faulting

The Mikabu Unit (Mikabu greenstones) was an oceanic plateau that was in the Mesozoic Paleo-Pacific Ocean. Large-igneous-province (LIP) activity has been proposed as the origin of the oceanic plateau of the Mikabu Unit. This study aims to reveal LIP activity in the Paleo-Pacific Ocean. We present geochemical and geochronological data for the Mikabu Unit and the Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Chichibu accretionary complex (i.e., the Kashiwagi and Kamiyoshida units), both of which underwent the same high-pressure low-temperature metamorphism as the Mikabu Unit, in the Kanto Mountains, central Japan. The Mikabu Unit contains oceanic plateau basalts characterized by incompatible element depletion and high chondrite normalized Gd/Yb ratios. These basalts are interpreted to have erupted in the age of 157.0 ± 0.9 Ma (Late Jurassic), based on zircon U–Pb dating of anorthosite. The basalt geochemistry indicates that oceanic plateau basalts occur in the Kashiwagi Unit. Although basalts in the Mikabu Unit were thought to have formed at the Pacific–Izanagi–Farallon triple junction in the previous studies, we propose they formed on older oceanic crust of the Izanagi Plate during the Late Jurassic, which was located several thousand kilometers from the triple junction. The Kashiwagi and Mikabu units were accreted to Asia during the Early Cretaceous.

The accretion of oceanic plateaus has played a significant role in continental growth during Earth's history, which is evidenced by the presence of oceanic island basalts (OIB) and plume-type ophiolites in many modern orogens. However, oceanic plateaus can also be subducted into the deeper mantle, as revealed by seismic tomography. The controlling factors of accretion versus subduction of oceanic plateaus remain unclear. Here, we investigate the dynamics of oceanic plateau accretion at active continental margins using a thermo-mechanical numerical model. Three major factors for the accretion of oceanic plateaus are studied: (1) a thinned continental margin of the overriding plate, (2) “weak” layers in the oceanic lithosphere, and (3) a young oceanic plateau. For a large oceanic plateau, the modes of oceanic plateau accretion can be classified into one-sided and two-sided subduction–collisional regimes, which mainly depend on the geometry of the continental margin (normal or thinned). For smaller-sized seamounts, accretion occurs only if all three factors are satisfied, of which a thinned continental margin is the most critical. Possible geological analogues for the two-sided subduction–collisional mode include the Taiwan orogenic belt and subduction of the Ontong Java Plateau. The accretion model for small oceanic plateaus applies to the Nadanhada Terrane in Northeast China.

The Meso-Tethyan oceanic plateaus are becoming conspicuous as giant units on the oceanic floor and have played important roles in both continental marginal orogenesis and Tethys oceanic evolution. In this study, we present mineralogical, geochronological, geochemical and Sm–Nd isotopic data for basaltic lavas from the Namco ophiolite and a high-Mg pillow lava–dyke–gabbro association from the Pengco ophiolite in central Tibet. Zircon U–Pb and Ar–Ar dating reveals that the Namco lavas erupted at ∼181 Ma while the Pengco boninitic association formed at ∼164 Ma. The Namco lavas display nearly flat rare-earth element (REE) patterns with no Nb–Ta depletions as well as high eNd values, characteristic of oceanic plateau lava. In contrast, the Pengco high-Mg rocks exhibit low REE concentrations below the normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB), ubiquitous Nb–Ta depletions and low eNd values, and the dykes and gabbros are characterized by U-shape REE patterns, indicating that they could have derived from a depleted mantle source that was contaminated by sedimentary flux and marking a mid-Jurassic initial intra-oceanic arc magmatism erupted on the Early Jurassic Meso-Tethyan oceanic plateau represented by the Namco ophiolite. Our Pengco boninitic rocks, along with the literature data, indicate a 167–160 Ma boninitic-like initial intra-oceanic arc within the Bangong Meso-Tethys, running from the Shiquanhe area to the Naqu area with a length of ∼1000 km, which was uniformly built on the Early Jurassic Meso-Tethyan oceanic plateau. Our literature investigation also indicates a ∼175 Ma accretionary orogeny with distinct signature of the oceanic plateau involvements along the southern Qiangtang continental margin, which is manifested by regional metamorphic, magmatic and depositional records. We thus suggest that the accretion of the Early Jurassic Meso-Tethyan oceanic plateau onto the southern Qiangtang continental margin resulted in the extensive orogeny along the continental margin, jammed the subduction zone at ∼175 Ma and induced intra-oceanic subduction initiation as well as the intra-oceanic infant arc magmatism in the Meso-Tethys at ∼164 Ma.

The “subduction initiation rule” (SIR) (Whattam and Stern, 2011) advocates that proto-arc and forearc complexes preserved in ophiolites and forearcs follow a predictable chemotemporal and/or chemostratigraphic vertical progression. This chemotemporal evolution is defined by a progression from bottom to top, from less to more depleted and slab-metasomatized sources. This progression has been recently documented for other igneous suites associated with subduction initiation. The Sona-Azuero forearc complex of southern Panama represents the earliest magmatic arc activity at the Central American Volcanic Arc system. Comparison of new and existing geochemical data for the circa 82-40 Ma Sona-Azuero Proto-Arc/Arc, its underlying 89-85 Ma “oceanic plateau” of SW Panama and the 72-69 Ma Golfito Proto-Arc of southern Costa Rica with the 70-39 Ma Chagres-Bayano Arc of eastern Panama exhibits a chemotemporal progression as described above and which follows the SIR. Sona-Azuero lavas are predominantly MORB-like, whereas those of the younger Chagres-Bayano complex are mostly VAB-like; lavas of the Golfito Proto-Arc typically show characteristics intermediate to that of the Sona-Azuero and Chagres-Bayano proto-arc/arc complexes. On the basis of isotope evidence as shown in other studies, lava types of all three complexes are clearly derived from a source contaminated by the Caribbean Large Igneous Province plume; we term these “plume-contaminated” forearc basalts and volcanic arc basalts, respectively. Apart from a plume-induced subduction initiation origin for the Panamanian forearc, these insights suggest otherwise similar petrogenetic origins and tectonic setting to lavas comprising earliest-formed forearc crust, and most ophiolites, which follow the SIR.

The Palaeozoic to Mesozoic accretionary complexes of southwest Japan include various types of melange. Most melanges are polygenetic in origin, being sedimentary or diapiric melanges that were overprinted by tectonic deformation during subduction. Sedimentary melanges, without a tectonic overprint, are present in the Permian accretionary complexes of the Akiyoshi and Kurosegawa belts and in the Early Cretaceous accretionary complex of the Chichibu Belt. These melanges are characterized by dominant basalt and limestone clasts, within a mudstone matrix. The basalt and limestone clasts within the sedimentary melanges were derived from ancient seamounts. Subduction of a seamount results in deformation of the pre-existing accretionary wedge, and it is difficult to incorporate a seamount into an accretionary wedge; therefore, preservation of seamount fragments requires a special tectonic setting. Oceanic plateau accretion might play an important role in interrupting the processes of subduction and accretion during the formation of accretionary complexes. Especially the Mikabu oceanic plateau might have caused the cessation of accretion during the Early Cretaceous. The subduction and accretion of volcanic arcs and oceanic plateaux helps to preserve sedimentary melanges from tectonic overprinting by preventing further subduction.

The Cretaceous units exposed in the northwestern segment of the Colombian Andes preserve the record of extensional and compressional tectonics prior to the collision with Caribbean oceanic terranes. We integrated field, stratigraphic, sedimentary provenance, whole rock geochemistry, Nd isotopes and U-Pb zircon data to understand the Cretaceous tectonostratigraphic and magmatic record of the Colombian Andes. The results suggest that several sedimentary successions including the Abejorral Fm. were deposited on top of the continental basement in an Early Cretaceous backarc basin (150-100 Ma). Between 120 and 100 Ma, the appearance of basaltic and andesitic magmatism (similar to 115-100 Ma), basin deepening, and seafloor spreading were the result of advanced stages of backarc extension. A change to compressional tectonics took place during the Late Cretaceous (100-80 Ma). During this compressional phase, the extended blocks were reincorporated into the margin, closing the former Early Cretaceous backarc basin. Subsequently, a Late Cretaceous volcanic arc was built on the continental margin: as a result, the volcanic rocks of the Quebradagrande Complex were unconformably deposited on top of the faulted and folded rocks of the Abejorral Fm. Between the Late Cretaceous and the Paleocene (80-60 Ma), an arc-continent collision between the Caribbean oceanic plateau and the South-American continental margin deformed the rocks of the Quebradagrande Complex and shut-down the active volcanic arc. Our results suggest an Early Cretaceous extensional event followed by compressional tectonics prior to the collision with the Caribbean oceanic plateau. (C) 2019 International Association for Gondwana Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Many Archean terranes are interpreted to have a tectonic and metamorphic evolution that indicates intra-crustal reorganization driven by lithospheric-scale gravitational instabilities. These processes are associated with the production of a significant amount of felsic and mafic crust, and are widely regarded to be a consequence of plume-lithosphere interactions. The juvenile Archean felsic crust is made predominantly of rocks of the tonalite–trondhjemite–granodiorite (TTG) suite, which are the result of partial melting of hydrous metabasalts. The geodynamic processes that have assisted the production of juvenile felsic crust, are still not well understood. Here, we perform 2D and 3D numerical simulations coupled with the state-of-the-art of petrological thermodynamical modelling to study the tectonic evolution of a primitive Archean oceanic plateau with particular regard on the condition of extraction of felsic melts. In our numerical simulations, the continuous emplacement of new, dry mafic intrusions and the extraction of the felsic melts, generate an unstable lower crust which drips into the mantle soon after the plume arrival. The subsequent tectonic evolution depends on the asthenosphere TP. If the TP is high enough (≥ 1500 ∘C) the entire oceanic crust is recycled within 2 Myrs. By contrast at low TP, the thin oceanic plateau slowly propagates generating plate-boundary like features.

We present an integrated study of ophiolite complexes and island arc rocks from the Tianshui-Wushan Accretionary Belt, West Qinling Orogen. The West Qinling Orogen is important because it links the Qinling orogen to the east and the Qilian and Kunlun orogens to the west. The link between these orogens is commonly assumed, but has little study in detail. Zircon U-Pb analyses from ophiolitic rocks indicate the oceanic lithosphere formed in the Cambrian (530–500 Ma). Pillow lavas in the ophiolite complex show geochemical signatures of enriched MORB, suggesting they represent remnants of an oceanic plateau or seamounts. The island arc rocks include a volcanic complex with basalt-andesite and boninite of Late Ordovician age (460–440 Ma), and a serpentinized peridotite massif. The serpentinized peridotite most likely represent a highly refractory mantle residue with subsequent melt-rock interaction at ~450 Ma, suggesting that it formed in a forearc setting. The co-occurrence of ophiolite complexes and island arc rocks indicates that Tianshui-Wushan Accretionary Belt is an oceanic suture zone caused by oceanic subduction in the Early Paleozoic. The island arc rocks most likely represent the early product of an Izu-Bonin-Mariana (IBM)-type intra-oceanic arc, developed in response to a collision between an oceanic plateau and a continental margin. Our study permits a tectonic correlation between the Tianshui-Wushan Accretionary Belt in the West Qinling Orogen and the South Qilian Accretionary Belt in the Qilian Orogen, thereby establishing the continuity between the Early Paleozoic orogenic belts along the southern margin of the North China Craton.

We present a new approach for recognizing the origin of accreted basaltic rocks based on ocean plate stratigraphy (OPS), and on the petrology and geochemistry of basalts from mid-oceanic ridges (MORB) and oceanic islands (OIB) using examples from four accretionary complexes (AC) in SW Japan: Akiyoshi, Mino–Tamba, Chichibu and Shimanto. The key to the problem is the model of OPS, which includes an association of igneous and sedimentary rocks that form on an oceanic plate during its travel from a mid-oceanic ridge to a subduction zone. We propose the reconstruction of the tectonic settings of basalts according to their relationships with associated OPS sediments, their petrogenesis and their geochemical features. Five types of OPS are recognized in the accretionary complexes of SW Japan: (1) sandstone/shale; (2) sandstone/shale and chert; (3) sandstone/shale, chert and MORB; (4) sandstone/shale, chert, MORB and gabbro (± peridotite); (5) seamount OPS including OIB, cap carbonates, slope clastics and basal shale/chert. The alkaline, tholeiitic or calc-alkaline composition of basaltic melts, which are typical of oceanic islands, mid-oceanic ridges and island-arcs, respectively, can be identified by the sequence in crystallization of their major phenocrysts, i.e. olivine (ol), clinopyroxene (cpx) and plagioclase (pl), and by their compositions. Alkaline and calc-alkaline mafic lavas are characterized by an ol → cpx → pl succession, whereas tholeiitic melts by their ol → pl ± cpx succession. Titanium-rich minerals, e.g., Ti–augite, kaersutite, Ti–biotite, are typical of alkaline lavas. The application of geochemistry-based tectonic discrimination diagrams is also a powerful tool, if not supported by geological and petrological data, may result in confusion due to magma contamination, post-magmatic alteration, and secular change of mantle thermal conditions. We propose that a direct comparison of normalized multi-element patterns and key binary plots from older volcanic rocks with their modern analogues provides a more viable and reliable method of basalt discrimination. Our OPS–petrology–geochemistry method allows us to confirm the above conclusions that the lavas of the Akiyoshi, Mino–Tamba and Southern Chichibu AC formed in oceanic islands, because they are associated with seamount OPS sediments, crystallized from ol to cpx and pl, contain Ti–augite and kaersutite and are enriched in TiO2, LREE and Nb. In this paper we present geochemical data from the Inuyama basalts of the Mino–Tamba AC and from the Toba complex in the huge Mikabu greenstone belt of the Chichibu AC. The Inuyama basalts are in contact with Jurassic pelagic cherts, but their geochemical features are confusing; they contain phenocrysts of ol, Ti–augite and kaersutite and therefore probably formed in seamounts. The Toba volcanic rocks are a part of the huge ophiolite belt; they have flat to slightly LREE-enriched REE patterns, are characterized by an ol → cpx succession of phenocrysts and they plot in the OIB field in binary plots suggesting they formed in an oceanic plateau.

Plate tectonics is the governing theory that unifies the Earth Sciences and is unique to Earth. The sinking of lithosphere in subduction zones drives plate tectonics but exactly how and why subduction begins (subduction initiation, SI) remains enigmatic. Most SI models require exploitation of existing lithospheric weaknesses but these are now produced by plate tectonics; so how did the first subduction zones form? One possibility is SI along a plume head-cold lithosphere interface, but no examples have been documented. On the basis of three key observations, we show here that the Late Cretaceous tectonic evolution of Central America, NW South America and the Leeward Antilles is consistent with plume-induced SI (PISI) which nucleated along the southern and western margins of the Caribbean Plate (Caribbean Large Igneous Province, CLIP) at ~ 100 Ma. (1) Trace element chemistry of most 100 Ma and younger units interpreted as CLIP that are exposed along the southern margin of the Caribbean Plate and NW South America, record subduction additions which increased with time beginning at 100 Ma. These ‘plume- and arc-related’ (PAR) units are distinguishable from: (a) global oceanic plateau basalts (OPB); (b) 140–110 Ma OPB along the western edge of the CLIP; and (c) post-100 Ma OPB in the northernmost CLIP. Whereas the older OPB are compositionally identical to global OPB, the younger northerly CLIP units are similar to oceanic island basalts and record lower degrees of partial melting than PAR units exposed along the southern and western peripheries of the CLIP. Both the older and the younger northerly CLIP units lack evidence of subduction modification. (2) There is no known hiatus between CLIP and younger arc units, suggesting continuous tectono-magmatic evolution from plume to arc. (3) Generation of the CLIP and earliest, overlying and crosscutting arc units overlaps in time, space, chemical and isotopic compositions; both units are consistent with derivation from Galapagos Plume-like mantle which became increasingly subduction-modified with time. These observations illustrate that formation of the CLIP and earliest arc volcanism reflects partial melting of the same hybrid plume-subduction-modified source in a single, rapidly evolving tectonic environment. The scale of Late Cretaceous PISI in the SW Caribbean realm is consistent with the expected large scale of lithospheric collapse as seen for other SI examples, extending some 1400 km from southern Costa Rica–Panama to western Colombia and 1700 km from Ecuador to the Leeward Antilles (Aruba and Curacao). This first documented example of PISI may be relevant to the start of plate tectonics which may have started when subduction began around Precambrian plume heads. Establishment of lava chemostratigraphy designed to establish the composition of early SI magmatic successions might provide keys for deciphering whether SI occurred along a collapsed transform (like the IBM arc; early MORB-like lavas) or around a mantle plume (like the Caribbean; early plateau-like lavas). Recognition of this first example of PISI further suggests that interaction of a sufficiently large plume head with sufficiently dense oceanic lithosphere in Precambrian time may have triggered the modern regime of plate tectonics.

Blocks of strongly foliated garnet- and clinopyroxene-bearing amphibolites have recently been discovered in the Saga ophiolitic melange, South Tibet. The Saga ophiolitic melange is a sheared serpentinite matrix melange that crops out along the Yarlung Zangbo Suture Zone (YZSZ), South Tibet. The YZSZ is the youngest and the southernmost of all sutures stretching across the Tibetan Plateau and contains the remnants of the Neo-Tethys ocean that once separated India from the Lhasa block. The garnet- and clinopyroxene-bearing amphibolite blocks are interpreted as parts of a dismembered sub-ophiolitic metamorphic sole. They are made mainly of hornblende, diopside and garnet and were strongly metasomatized during retrogression. Thermobarometry and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating on hornblende indicate that they were metamorphosed to peak conditions in excess of 12 kbar and 850 °C between 132 and 127 Ma. Major and trace element geochemistry suggest an N- to E-MORB-type protolith, although a back- or inter-arc basin setting cannot be ruled out. This data supports a model in which the back-arc YZSZ ophiolites (central segment) were trapped in a fore-arc setting by the inception of a subduction at the back-/inter-arc ridge. The cause of this important Early Cretaceous tectonic event might be the presence of an oceanic plateau or hot-spot tracks in the Neo-Tethys, the collision of the Lhasa and Qiangtang blocks in the North and/or the onset of northward movement of the Indian continent in the South. The proposed conceptual model provides an explanation for the absence (or rarity) of Late Cretaceous ophiolites along the YZSZ which are mostly of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous age.

Field relationships, geochemistry and U–Pb zircon and Sm–Nd whole-rock geochronology are used to constrain the genesis of Palaeoproterozoic massive amphibolites and orthogneisses of the Algodoes Sequence, Central Ceara Domain, Northeastern Brazil. The 2236 ± 55 Ma-old Algodoes amphibolites show trace element geochemical signature and positive e Nd( t ) values similar to Phanaerozoic oceanic plateau basalts and less often to back-arc basalts. The amphibolites are intruded by tonalitic to quartz-dioritic gneisses of the Cipo unit which were dated at 2160–2170 Ma and 2130 Ma. Neodimium isotope data and whole-rock geochemistry for these gneisses show they are akin to juvenile arc plutonics of the adakitic suite. The likely occurrence of Palaeoproterozoic plateau basalts and arc plutonics in this part of northeastearn Brazil render comparisons with similar terranes elsewhere in South America and Africa, which in turn indicate a significant contribution of accretionary orogens in the early assembly of the Columbia Supercontinent.

We have reinvestigated the mid-Cretaceous plume pulse in relation to paleo-oceanic plateaus from accretionary prisms in the circum-Pacific region, and we have correlated the Pacific superplume activity with catastrophic environmental changes since the Neoproterozoic. The Paleo-oceanic plateaus are dated at 75–150 Ma; they were generated in the Pacific superplume region and are preserved in accretionary prisms. The volcanic edifice composed of both modern and paleo-oceanic plateaus is up to 10.7 × 10 6 km 2 in area and 19.1 × 10 7 km 3 in volume. The degassing rate of CO 2 (0.82 − 1.1 × 10 18 mol/m.y.) suggests a significant impact on Cretaceous global warming. The synchronous occurrence of paleo-oceanic plateaus in accretionary complexes indicates that Pacific superplume pulse activities roughly coincided at the Permo-Triassic boundary and the Vendian–Cambrian boundary interval. The CO 2 expelled by the Pacific superplume probably contributed to environmental catastrophes. The initiation of the Pacific superplume contributed to the snowball Earth event near the Vendian–Cambrian boundary; this was one of the most dramatic events in Earth's history. The scale of the Pacific superplume activity roughly corresponds to the scale of drastic environmental change.

The Denaro Complex, part of the Madre de Dios Terrane is composed of metamorphosed pillow basalts, metahyaloclastites, banded metalliferous and radiolarian metacherts, metapelites and redeposited calcareous metasandstones. The basaltic rocks show primary textures, minerals and structures. They are foliated especially in the vicinities of thrust faults, interpreted to have developed during the accretion of the terrane to the Gondwana margin. Composition of relic primary augite and chromite crystals plots into the MORB field of tectonic discriminant diagrams, as do the analyses of whole rock geochemistry, which indicates that these rocks are akin to volcanic rocks erupted along a constructive plate margin (N- and E-type MORBs), probably in a spreading axis-centered oceanic plateau or ridge. The metamorphic assemblages of pumpellyite–actinolite facies bear witness of metamorphism in a frontal accretionary wedge at elevated P and low T conditions, probably related to the Late Triassic–Early Jurassic Chonide event, which has been recognized elsewhere in the Patagonian Andes.

Detailed geological, geochemical and biostratigraphic studies of rocks from basaltic-sedimentary terranes in the Kurai and Katun accretionary wedges (Vendian-Middle Cambrian units), the Charysh-Terekta strike-slip zone (Late Cambrian-Early Ordovician units), and the Chara ophiolite-bearing strike-slip zone (Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous units) have been undertaken. The Early Cambrian accretionary wedges record a stage of the Kuznetsk-Altai island arc evolution. The Charysh-Terekta strike-slip zone records evidence of the Late Devonian collision of the Gondwana-derived Altai-Mongolian terrane and the Siberian continent. The Chara ophiolitic zone was formed during the Late Carboniferous-Permian collision of the Siberian and Kazakhstan continents. Our study of these fragments of oceanic crust led us to conclude that intra-plate volcanism was active at the early stages of the Paleo-Asian oceanic evolution, in a period from the Vendian to the Early Carboniferous. Fragments of weakly to strongly differentiated oceanic and island-arc basalts have been preserved in accretion-collision zones and give information about chemical composition, petrology and tectonic setting of the oceanic crust at these times. The geochemical data indicate that the Altai and East Kazakhstan metabasalts could have been formed at mid-oceanic ridges, oceanic islands or oceanic plateau of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Our interpretation of structural, lithological, geochemical and biostratigraphic data shows that the structure and composition of the oceanic lithosphere of the Paleo-Asian Ocean were similar to those of the present Pacific Ocean.

Large segments of the continental crust are known to have formed through the amalgamation of oceanic plateaus and continental fragments. However mechanisms responsible for terrane accretion remain poorly understood. We have therefore analysed the interactions of oceanic plateaus with the leading edge of the continental margin using a thermomechanical–petrological model of an oceanic continental subduction zone with spontaneously moving plates. This model includes partial melting of crustal and mantle lithologies and accounts for complex rheological behaviour including viscous creep and plastic yielding. Our results indicate that oceanic plateaus may either be lost by subduction or accreted onto continental margins. Complete subduction of oceanic plateaus is common in models with old (> 40 Ma) oceanic lithosphere whereas models with younger lithosphere often result in terrane accretion. Three distinct modes of terrane accretion were identified depending on the rheological structure of the lower crust and oceanic cooling age: frontal plateau accretion basal plateau accretion and underplating plateaus. Complete plateau subduction is associated with a sharp uplift of the forearc region and the formation of a basin further landward followed by topographic relaxation. All crustal material is lost by subduction and crustal growth is solely attributed to partial melting of the mantle. Frontal plateau accretion leads to crustal thickening and the formation of thrust and fold belts since oceanic plateaus are docked onto the continental margin. Strong deformation leads to slab break off which eventually terminates subduction shortly after the collisional stage has been reached. Crustal parts that have been sheared off during detachment melt at depth and modify the composition of the overlying continental crust. Basal plateau accretion scrapes oceanic plateaus off the downgoing slab enabling the outward migration of the subduction zone. New incoming oceanic crust underthrusts the fractured terrane and forms a new subduction zone behind the accreted terrane. Subsequently hot asthenosphere rises into the newly formed subduction zone and allows for extensive partial melting of crustal rocks located at the slab interface and only minor parts of the former oceanic plateau remain unmodified. Oceanic plateaus may also underplate the continental crust after being subducted to mantle depth. (U)HP terranes are formed with peak metamorphic temperatures of 400–700 °C prior to slab break off and subsequent exhumation. Rapid and coherent exhumation through the mantle along the former subduction zone at rates comparable to plate tectonic velocities is followed by somewhat slower rates at crustal levels accompanied by crustal flow structural reworking and syndeformational partial melting. Exhumation of these large crustal volumes leads to a sharp surface uplift.