Petrology, Geochronology and Geochemistry of the Xar Moron River Ophiolite: Implications for the Tectonic Evolution of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean.

As the largest accretionary orogen, the crustal tectonic framework and evolution of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) have always been one of the hot topics among geologists (Sengör et al., 1993, 1996; Jahn et al., 2000a; Badarch et al., 2002; Windley et al., 2007; Li et al., 2009). The formation of the main part of the crust in the CAOB involved continuous lateral accretion of island arcs and accretionary complexes along the margins of the Siberian, Sino‐Korean and Tarim paleo‐continents and the final collision between these continental margins because of the subduction of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean plate since Mesoproterozoic. The ophiolites, which represent the fragments of ancient oceanic lithosphere, are the direct evidence for the study of the evolution of orogenic belts. Based on field geological survey, the mantle peridotite (serpentinite), gabbro, basalt and radiolarian bedded chert, which were deemed as the "ophiolite trinity", were identified as isolated blocks in the matrix of pelitic siltstone and silty mudstone in the Kedanshan, Xingshuwa and Jiujingzi areas along the Xar Monron River in southeast Inner Mongolia of China. Besides, there were plenty of other exotic blocks, such as limestone and sandstone, in the matrix. Both of the matrix and blocks underwent strong foliated deformation. All of these rocks above constitute a tectonic mélange. Zircon U‐Pb dating for the gabbro blocks in the Xingshuwa and Jiujingzi ophiolites reveals that they were formed in early Permian (275–280 Ma). The ages of the gabbros, together with the middle Permian radiolaria fossils in the chert reported by Wang and Fan (1997), indicate that the oceanic basin was not closed in early‐middle Permian. The geochemical compositions of the basaltic blocks distributed in different locations in the Xingshuwa tectonic mélange display different genetic types of normal mid‐ocean ridge basalt (N‐MORB), enriched mid‐ocean ridge basalts (E‐MORB), oceanic island basalt (OIB), island arc basalt and continental marginal arc basalt, which indicates what they represented is a complex oceanic basin. Combining with the studies on regional magmatism, strata and structure data, it is suggested that the Xar Moron River Ophiolite belt represented the final suture zone of the Paleo‐Asian Ocean in the southeast Inner Mongolia, and the ocean did not close before late Permian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]