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The article summarizes paleomagnetic data for Tuva, Mongolia, and Eastern China, which showed that in the central part of the Central Asian Fold Belt, areas with different paleomagnetic characteristics are distinguished. These are areas located north of the Mongol–Okhotsk mobile belt, the western and eastern parts of Southern Mongolia, and Eastern China. The areas located north of the Mongol–Okhotsk mobile belt were part of the structure of the Siberian continent from the Ordovician and experienced movement similar to the Siberian continent. The regions of the western part of Southern Mongolia have been part of the structure of the Siberian continent since the Late Carboniferous. The geological complexes of the eastern part of Southern Mongolia and blocks of Eastern China in the Middle Paleozoic and Early Mesozoic were located in a latitudinal interval close to the North China block and experienced similar latitudinal movements and rotations. The large difference between the paleolatitudes of coeval strata in western and eastern Mongolia and Eastern China south of the Mongol–Okhotsk mobile belt suggests the existence of a tectonic boundary that separated blocks formed at paleolatitudes along the 107° E meridian, close to Siberia and North China. To the west of the 107° E meridian, the paleolatitudes of the formation of Late Carboniferous–Permian strata are close to the paleolatitudes of Siberia, and east of the meridian, to the paleolatitudes of North China. The width of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean in the Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic was 30°–40° E (~3000–4000 km). The southern limit of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean was segmented and consisted of terranes of various genesis and structure. The closure of segments of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean occurred as a result of collision of terranes with the Siberian continent from the Late Carboniferous (in the west) to the Jurassic (in the east). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sedimentary architecture of fan deltas, which commonly constitute reservoirs, is a primary control on distribution and recovery efficiency of oil and gas. Deep-water fan deltas have been extensively discussed in the literature, whereas the sedimentary architecture of shallow-water fan-delta fronts, especially the characterization of mouth bar, quantification of architectural elements, and factors controlling the various architectural elements, remain poorly understood. Here, based on the integration of field survey and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) observation, the sedimentary architecture of Sangyuan section of the Lower Cretaceous Xiguayuan Formation in the Luanping Basin to is qualitatively and quantitatively characterized. Furthermore, factors controlling the architecture of the shallow-water fan-delta front are highlighted. Five facies associations, which differ in both lithofacies and dimensions, were interpreted in gravel-sand deposits of Sangyuan section, and indicate variations in flow conditions during deposition. The width/thickness ratio of facies associations generally increases rapidly as the flow energy and flow concentration decreases from debris flow to traction currents during the evolution of shallow-water fan delta. Both distributary channels and mouth bars dominate facies associations in the shallow-water fan-delta front, accounting for 53.42% and 36.88% of gravel-sand deposits respectively in Sangyuan section. Mouth bar consists of gravel accretions and sand accretions. Grain size of sediments influences the relative strength of the inertial force and bed friction, which determine the effluent behavior in a river-mouth system and the vertical grain-size trend of mouth bar accretions. Gravel accretions are characterized by normal grading, and these are interpreted as the products of inertia-dominated effluent. Sand accretions exhibit coarsening-upward trends in the river-mouth systems where friction-dominated outflow occurred. The overall vertical grain-size trend of mouth bar depends on the stacking pattern of accretions rather than the grading of one accretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of river deltas has considerable economic and ecological benefits; however, owing to sediment interception by dams, river deltas face the risk of shrinking, which is a major environmental challenge of the twenty-first century. The Yellow River contains the highest amount of sediment globally, and accretion and erosion are extremely active in its river delta. The water–sediment regulation scheme (WSRS) of the Yellow River have increased the frequency and unpredictability of the alternation of accretion and erosion areas in the river delta. We studied 25 satellite remote sensing images taken from 1999 to 2019. We used the mean high tide line to calculate the accretion and erosion of the Yellow River delta under different runoff and sediment transport scenarios. WSRS have effectively reversed the erosion of the Yellow River delta that had operated from 2002 to 2019. Runoff and sediment transport during the WSRS period are positively correlated, and both are negatively correlated with erosion area; correlations between variables during the non-WSRS period are not significant. During the WSRS, a sediment and runoff transport ratio greater than 10 kg/m3 results in overall accretion, and a value lower than this results in erosion. In general, during the WSRS period, runoff, sediment transport, and the sediment–runoff ratio jointly control the changes in the accretion area of the river delta. Our research provides a scientific basis for the sustainable development of the Yellow River delta and WSRS scheduling for the Xiaolangdi Reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tongbai-Hong'an orogen is located in a key tectonic position linking the Qinling orogen to the west and the Dabie-Sulu orogen to the east. Because the orogen preserves a Paleozoic accretionary orogenic system in the north and a latest Paleozoic-Mesozoic collisional orogenic system in the south, it may serve as an ideal place to study the tectonic evolution between the North and South China Blocks. The available literature data in the past 20 years indicate that the tectonic processes of the Tongbai-Hong'an orogen involved four stages during the Phanerozoic: (1) Early Paleozoic (490-420 Ma) oceanic subduction, arc magmatism and arc-continent collision created a new Andean-type active continental margin on the North China Block; (2) Late Paleozoic (340-310 Ma) oceanic subduction and accretion generated separated paired metamorphic belts: a medium P/T Wuguan-Guishan complex belt in the south of the Shandan-Songpa fault and a high P/T Xiongdian eclogite belt in the northern edge of the Mesozoic HP metamorphic terrane; (3) Latest Paleozoic-Early Mesozoic (255-200 Ma) continental subduction and collision formed the Tongbai HP terrane in the west and the Hong'an HP/UHP terrane in the east as a consequence of deep subduction towards the east and syn-subduction detachment/exhumation of the down-going slab; (4) Late Mesozoic (140-120 Ma) extension, voluminous magma intrusion and tectonic extrusion led to the final exhumation of the Tongbai-Hong'an-Dabie HP/UHP terrane and the wedge-shaped architecture of the terrane narrowing towards the west. However, many open questions still remain about the details of each evolutionary stage and earlier history of the orogen. Besides an extensive study directly on the Tongbai-Hong'an orogen in the future, integrated investigation on the 'soft-collisional' Qinling orogen in the west and the 'hard-collisional' Dabie-Sulu orogen in the east is required to establish a general tectonic model for the whole Qinling-Tongbai-Hong'an-Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Tongbai orogen is located in a key tectonic position linking the Qinling orogen to the west and the Dabie-Sulu orogen to the east. This orogen comprises a Paleozoic accretionary orogenic system in the north and a Permo–Triassic collisional orogenic system in the south; hence it may serve as an ideal place to unravel the tectonic evolution from the initial oceanic subduction/accretion to the final continental collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons. U Pb zircon geochronology of metasedimentary and metaigneous rocks and geochemical characterization of metabasalts indicate a close genetic relationship between the individual tectonic units of the Paleozoic accretionary orogenic system: (1) the Kuanping Group as a Neoproterozoic-Ordovician subduction-accretion complex which received sediments from the Qinling microcontinent, (2) the Erlangping Group and Huanggang diorite-granodiorite complex as an Ordovician–Silurian island arc evolving from backarc basin, (3) the Qinling Group as a Precambrian microcontinent converted into continental arc during the Ordovician, (4) the Guishan Complex as a mixture of the Qinling continental arc and Devonian forearc sediments, and (5) the Nanwan Flysch as a Devonian forearc sequence deposited on the newly accreted active margin of the Sino-Korean craton. Consequently, the northern and southern boundaries of the Paleozoic accretionary orogenic system represent two sutures of the Qinling microcontinent with the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons. The new and previously published data reveal that the tectonic evolution of the Tongbai orogen involved a series of events from Ordovician–Early Silurian (ca. 490–440Ma) oceanic subduction and arc magmatism, Silurian–Early Devonian (ca. 440–400Ma) arc-continent collision, Carboniferous (ca. 340–310Ma) oceanic subduction and accretion, Late Permian–Triassic (ca. 260–200Ma) continental subduction and collision, to Cretaceous (ca. 140–90Ma) extension and lateral eastward extrusion. The entire accretionary orogenic processes until the final collision between the Sino-Korean and Yangtze cratons may have lasted more than 200Ma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sedimentary provenance studies based on detrital zircon ages have proved to be a powerful tool for elucidating detailed patterns of erosion and sediment dispersal on and adjacent to the continents. This approach is commonly used to examine processes that occur over discrete intervals of geologic time, but it can also be used to address fundamental questions concerning the longer-term evolution of the continental crust. Central Asia, for example, consists of a Palaeozoic accretionary collage that contrasts with the cratonal cores of continents such as North America, which were fully consolidated during the Proterozoic. Detrital zircon provenance may thus provide important insights on the comparative evolution of these distinctly different styles of continental growth. The Tarim sedimentary basin is interpreted to be underlain by a micro-continental block that accreted to central Asia during the late Palaeozoic. Detrital zircon in pre-Permian strata of the northern Tarim basin includes Precambrian grains derived from Tarim basement, and Palaeozoic grains related to active tectonism along its margins. During this phase of tectonic amalgamation, overall sediment maturity increased up-section, consistent with similar observations from other cratons. However, in Tarim these trends reverse dramatically in Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata deposited after amalgamation of Tarim with central Asia. Palaeozoic zircon grains derived from the Tian Shan become dominant, Precambrian grains drop to trace abundances, and sandstone composition shift abruptly to immature litharenite. Moreover, a progressively increasing temporal gap occurs between zircon age and depositional age, reflecting the near absence of post-amalgamation magmatic or high-grade metamorphic rocks within the Tian Shan. Collectively, these observations support a model of Tarim and other central Asian basins as islands of long-lived tectonic stability, within an orogenic collage that has remained mobile for >250 million years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Accretionary complexes record critical information about the history of subduction and accretion along the southern margin of Asia prior to the India–Asia collision. This paper presents detailed field mapping, petrographic and detrital zircon U–Pb data from an accretionary complex within the Yalung–Zangpo suture zone, southern Tibet. From structurally higher to lower levels, the accretionary complex consists of a serpentinite mélange, the chert-matrix Tangga mélange, the mud-matrix Pomunong mélange, and the coherent Rongmawa Formation. The Tangga mélange consists of Late Triassic–Early Cretaceous abyssal chert and siliceous shale with blocks of chert and mafic to ultra-mafic rocks. The Tangga mélange was accreted beneath ophiolitic rocks during the Aptian. The Pomunong mélange consists of a Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous hemipelagic siliceous shale and chert matrix with blocks from Early Permian seamounts and from Late Cretaceous trench-fill sandstones; it was accreted beneath the Tangga mélange after the Aptian but prior to 71Ma. Structurally beneath these mélanges to the south, the uppermost Cretaceous Rongmawa Formation consists of turbiditic sandstone, pelagic chert, and siliceous shale and records a transition in depositional setting from lower abyssal plain to upper trench. Detrital zircons from sandstone blocks of the Pomunong mélange and the coherent Rongmawa Formation display similar U–Pb age spectra and are dominated by peaks at 71–231Ma, 481–693Ma, and 701–1372Ma. These age peaks overlap with igneous crystallization ages and detrital zircon ages from sedimentary strata in the Lhasa terrane. Our data indicate that the serpentinite mélange, Tangga mélange, Pomunong mélange and Rongmawa Formation comprise a southward-younging accretionary complex that developed during the northward subduction of Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere beneath the south margin of the Lhasa terrane and that all exposed ophiolitic and accretionary complex assemblages were accreted to the Asian margin prior to the India–Asia continental collision. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The largest plain in the North Vietnam has formed by the redundant sediment of the Red River system. Sediment supply is not equally distributed, causing erosion in some places. The paper analyzes the evolvement and physical mechanism of the erosion. The overlay of five recent topographical maps (1930, 1965, 1985, 1995, and 2001) shows that sediment redundantly deposits at some big river mouths (Ba Lat, Lach, and Day), leading to rapid accretion (up to 100m/y). Typical mechanism of delta propagation is forming and connecting sand bars in front of the mouths. Erosion coasts are distributed either between the river mouths (Hai Hau) or nearby them (Giao Long, Giao Phong, and Nghia Phuc). The evolvement of erosion is caused by wave-induced longshore southwestward sediment transport. Meanwhile sediment from the river mouths is not directed to deposit nearshore. The development of sand bars can intensively reduce the erosion rate nearby river mouths. Erosion in Hai Hau is accelerated by sea level rise and upstream dams. Sea dike stability is seriously threatened by erosion-induced lowering of beach profiles, sea level rise, typhoon, and storm surge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Alegedayi Ophiolitic Complex (AOC) was discovered in the northwestern part of Altai, Xinjiang, China. Strips of mafic rocks including gabbro, diabase, pillow basalt and pyroxenite, all deformed, mostly underwent low-grade metamorphism, are intercalated with marine-facies sedimentary strata consisting of shale, siltstone and chert. SHRIMP zircon dating of a metagabbro sample gave an age of 439±17Ma. In terms of whole-rock geochemistry, the AOC is composed of three distinct groups. Whereas the majority has transitional or enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (T-/E-MORB) affinity, varieties with oceanic island basalt (OIB) and supra-subduction zone (SSZ) affinities were also identified. Our data show that the petrogenesis of this mafic complex involved interaction among depleted mantle, enriched component, recycled sediments, slab-derived fluid, and metasomatized mantle wedge. Taking into account the coeval adakites and high-Mg rocks to the southwest and a slightly older arc to the northeast, we suggest that the AOC reflects an intra-arc spreading event that occurred in response to an early Silurian ridge subduction which had profound effects on the tectonic evolution of the Chinese Altai. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The subaerial delta of the Yellow River has undergone a notable reshaping process with drastic changes in erosion and accretion patterns both temporally and spatially. These morphological changes not only have significant impact on the long-term evolution of delta but also pose severe threat to the existing infrastructures adjacent to the eroding delta lobe. This paper presents a data-based study of waves, currents, sediments and subaqueous bedforms including the application of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the measured coastal profiles in order to understand qualitative and quantitative processes that are responsible for the observed changes. The results demonstrated that the Yellow River Delta has recently been dominated by recession process due to the reduced sediment supply from the Yellow River in the recent decades. A critical threshold of river sediment discharge was formulated and used to explain the observed morphodynamic processes. It was found that the coast of the Yellow River Delta could be broadly divided into three geomorphic zones: the area near abandoned delta, the estuarine area, and Laizhou Bay. At the nearshore zone of the abandoned delta, waves are the main agent for bed erosion and sediments suspension. The tidal current is effective in transporting suspended sediments and exerts the main control on the depths of the erosion-accretion balance zone on the coastal profiles. The area near the present estuary has seen rapid deposition with the progradation rate being governed by the relative intensity of fluvial and marine processes while the coasts in Laizhou Bay are stable and the particular characteristics of the tidal current field prevent the sediments supplied by the Yellow River from reaching this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Granulite-facies rocks are intermittently exposed in a roughly E–W trending belt that extends for approximately 2000 km across the North China Craton, from the Helanshan, Qianlishan, Wulashan–Daqingshan, Guyang and Jining Complexes in the Western Block, through the Huai''an, Hengshan, Xuanhua and Chengde Complexes in the Trans-North China Orogen, to the Jianping (Western Liaoning), Eastern Hebei, Northern Liaoning and Southern Jilin Complexes in the Eastern Block. The belt is generally referred to as the North China Granulite-Facies Belt, previously interpreted as the lowest part of an obliquely exposed crust of the North China Craton. Recent data indicate that the North China Granulite-Facies Belt is not a single terrane. Instead, it represents components of three separate terranes: the Eastern and Western Blocks and Trans-North China Orogen. Each of these units records different metamorphic histories and reflect the complex tectonic evolution of the NCC during the late Archean and Paleoproterozoic. Mafic granulites in the Eastern Block and the Yinshan Terrane (Western Block) underwent medium-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism at about ∼2.5 Ga, with anticlockwise P–T paths involving near isobaric cooling following peak metamorphism, reflecting an origin related to intrusion and underplating of mantle-derived magmas. Pelitic granulites in the Khondalite Belt (Western Block) underwent medium-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism at about 2.0–1.9 Ga, with clockwise P–T paths, which record the Paleoproterozoic amalgamation of the Yinshan and Ordos Terranes to form the Western Block. Mafic and pelitic granulites in the Trans-North China Orogen experienced high- to medium-pressure granulite-facies metamorphism at ∼1.85 Ga, with clockwise P–T paths involving nearly isothermal decompression following peak metamorphism, which are in accord with the final collision between the Eastern and Western Blocks to form the North China Craton at ∼1.8 Ga. The NCGB cannot therefore represent a separate unique terrane; instead it reflects the amalgamation of three separate granulite terranes that evolved independently and at different times. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We present geological, whole-rock geochemical and Sr–Nd isotopic, and zircon U–Pb geochronological data for mafic rocks found as angular fragments in the Jinghe ophiolitic mélange of the Northern Tianshan orogenic belt, northwest China. The investigated exotic blocks comprise layered and massive gabbros and pillow basalts that are embedded in a serpentinite-rich matrix. The 380.5 ± 4.9 Ma layered gabbros have chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns characterized by significant depletions in the light rare earth elements (LREE) and positive Eu anomalies, suggesting that the petrogenesis of these rocks was controlled by cumulus processes. The 381.5 ± 3.7 Ma massive gabbros have near-flat normal-type mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-normalized multi-element patterns with moderate to strong negative Nb–Ti anomalies. These rocks have initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (87Sr/86Sr (i)) of 0.703825–0.704758 and high ε Nd (t) values (+6.7 to +9.0). Two compositional groups of basalts can be recognized: ocean island basalt (OIB)- and enriched MORB-type rocks. Both groups display variable enrichments in large-ion lithophile elements (LILE) in N-MORB-normalized trace element diagrams. Semi-quantitative modelling demonstrates that the parental magmas of the massive gabbros were derived by 5%–10% partial melting of a spinel-bearing lherzolite source influenced by minor inputs of subducted crustal components. The parental magmas of the subalkaline and alkaline basalts were derived by 10%–20% and 1%–5% polybaric melting, respectively, of a lherzolite source containing spinel and garnet in equal amounts. The petrogenesis of the Jinghe basalts can be linked to continental rifting followed by seafloor spreading caused by upwelling of a mantle plume. The petrogenesis of the gabbros is linked to plate re-organization that provided the geodynamic impetus for southwestward subduction in the North Tianshan Ocean, and the onset of incorporation of oceanic materials with different origins into a growing accretionary prism during the Late Devonian. Accretion resulted in chaotic mixing of dismembered pieces of variably deformed oceanic rocks, which are now preserved as an extensive block-in-matrix ophiolitic mélange. • We studied blocks of gabbros and basalts from the Jinghe ophiolitic mélange. • Dating of isotropic gabbros yielded an age of 381.5 ± 3.7 Ma. • Gabbros resulted from melting of spinel peridotite source modified by fluids. • Basalts were mainly derived from melting of a plume-modified source. • Plume-proximal oceanic rifting followed by subduction lead to the accretion of mafic rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]