the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Alternating Extensional and Contractional Tectonics in the West Kunlun Mountains during Jurassic: Responses to the Neo-Tethyan Geodynamics along the Eurasian Margin
Abstract. The Tethyan Orogenic Belt records a long-lived geological cycle involving subduction and collision along the southern margin of the Eurasian continent. The West Kunlun Mountains, located at the junction between the Tibetan and Western Asian Tethyan realm, records multiple orogenic events from the Paleozoic to the Cenozoic that shape the northwestern Tibetan Plateau. However, deciphering the complex Mesozoic contractional and extensional tectonics to interpret the broader Tethyan geodynamics remains challenging. To address the tectonic transition following the early Cimmerian (Late Triassic) collision, this study investigates the newly identified Jurassic sedimentary strata and volcanic rocks in the West Kunlun Mountains. Zircon geochronological results of basalts and sandstones reveal that this ~ 2.5-km-thick package was deposited at ca. 178 Ma, rather than the previously reported Neoproterozoic age. The alkaline basalts at the top of the formation exhibit chemical compositions similar to oceanic island basalts, consistent with the intracontinental extension environment revealed by the upward-fining sedimentary pattern. Provenance analysis, integrating conglomerate clast lithologies with detrital zircons, suggests a substantial contribution from adjacent basement sources, likely influenced by the normal faulting during initial rift stage. These findings indicate that the West Kunlun Mountains rapidly transitioned into an extensional setting after suturing with Cimmerian terranes. The regional structure, stratigraphy and magmatism suggest that this Early - Middle Jurassic basin was subsequently inverted during the Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous. We propose that the Mesozoic deformational history in the West Kunlun Mountains was related to the northward subduction of the Neo-Tethys Ocean, as it transitioned from southward retreat to northward flat-slab advancement. Comparing with the entire strike-length of the Eurasian Tethyan orogen, we find that the subduction mode varied from the west to the east, reflecting the broad geodynamic changes to, or initial conditions of, the Neo-Tethyan system.
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CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1670', Johannes Rembe, 11 Jun 2024
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Dear Authors,
with great interest, I read your preprint.Â
I would like to draw your attention to the evidence for extensional or transtensional tectonics in the North Pamir during the Triassic.
This was published in Lithosphere (Rembe et al., 2022). During the Late Triassic, bi-modal back-arc volcanism occurred along a band running from the NE Pamir into the Afghan Hindukush (see also Siehl et al., 2017). There are hints for a latest Triassic (mid-Rhaetian) contractional phase and partial closure of the back-arc basin in the NE Pamir. It would be interesting to discuss whether this extensional back-arc tectonics at least partly transitioned directly into the Jurassic extensional tectonics. I would also recommend updating your figure 9: Profile (5) Qiemugan, should comprise Triassic strata, for instance a more than 800m thick bimodal volcanic sequence cropping out east of Ka Latashi (喀拉塔什) Ulugqat, Kizilsu, Xinjiang. A 200 m thick crystal tuff gave an Anisian zircon U-Pb age of 244.1±1.1 Ma (Rembe et al., 2022).Best Regards,
Johannes Rembe
Rembe, et al. "Geochronology, Geochemistry, and Geodynamic Implications of Permo-Triassic Back-Arc Basin Successions in the North Pamir, Central Asia." Lithosphere 2022.1 (2022).
Siehl, Agemar. "Structural setting and evolution of the Afghan orogenic segment–a review." Geological Society, London, Special Publications 427.1 (2017): 57-88.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1670-CC1 -
AC1: 'Reply on CC1', Hongxiang Wu, 15 Jun 2024
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Dear Johannes,
Thanks for your attention and comment.
As proposed, the NE Pamir evolved from a Permian-Triassic back-arc setting to a collisional orogeny during the latest Triassic to the earliest Jurassic. Recent identification of the Triassic back-arc belt extending from northern Afghanistan to the NE West Kunlun Mountains in China (Rembe et al., 2022) suggests a more complex pre-Cenozoic evolution of the Paleo-Tethys in the Pamir segment than previously understood. However, the precise timing of the closure of this back-arc system remains unclear.
No direct geochronological constraints have been reported for this significant contractional event in the back-arc system. Regional low-temperature thermochronological records indicate uplift and cooling events in the Triassic and Late Jurassic (Yang et al., 2017). The closure of the Paleo-Tethys and the subsequent collisional orogeny likely happened in the latest Triassic, as evidenced by Triassic thrusts and stratal deformation observed in the western Tarim Basin (Wu et al., 2021). Notably, the Permian- Triassic volcanic rock only outcropped in the north segment (Qiemugan-Gaizi River) of the West Kunlun, whereas the south segment (Kyzyltau-Aertashi) was dominated by the carbonate sequence of platform sedimentation. The Triassic thrust belt and paleo-uplifts developed only in the south segment (Kyzyltau-Aertashi; Wu et al., 2021). Additionally, Permian-Triassic detrital zircons are absent from the Early-Middle Jurassic Kyzyltau basin in the West Kunlun Mountains (Fig. 6), implying sediment communication occurred only from the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Fig. 10). These lines of information support the hypothesis that partial closure of the Paleo-Tethys and back-arc seaway in the Pamir occurred during the latest Triassic.
We propose that the evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and the back-arc basin behaved differently between the NW Pamir segment (Qiemugan-Gaizi River) and the E North Pamir segment (Kyzyltau-Keliyang)Â (Fig. 1c). It is likely that the Triassic back-arc basin did not extend into the E North Pamir segment, and the closure of the Paleo-Tethys varied between its northern and southern segments, influenced by the Late Paleozoic embayment in the Pamir region (Li et al., 2020).
Overall, the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of the North Pamir region is more complex than current tectonic models suggest and requires further study.
Additionally, we are pleased to revised the stratigraphic column in Fig. 9 to present the thick Triassic volcanic sequence in the NW Pamir.
Thanks for your valuable suggestion.
Best Regards,
Hongxiang Wu
Rembe, J., Sobel, E. R., Kley, J., Terbishalieva, B., Musiol, A., Chen, J., and Zhou, R.: Geochronology, Geochemistry, and Geodynamic Implications of Permo-Triassic Back-Arc Basin Successions in the North Pamir, Central Asia, Lithosphere, 2022, 10.2113/2022/7514691, 2022.
Yang, Y.-T., Guo, Z.-X., and Luo, Y.-J.: Middle-Late Jurassic tectonostratigraphic evolution of Central Asia, implications for the collision of the Karakoram-Lhasa Block with Asia, Earth-Science Reviews, 166, 83-110, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.01.005, 2017.
Wu, H., Cheng, X., Chen, H., Chen, C., Dilek, Y., Shi, J., Zeng, C., Li, C., Zhang, W., Zhang, Y., Lin, X., and Zhang, F.: Tectonic Switch From Triassic Contraction to Jurassic-Cretaceous Extension in the Western Tarim Basin, Northwest China: New Insights Into the Evolution of the Paleo-Tethyan Orogenic Belt, Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 10.3389/feart.2021.636383, 2021.
Li, Y.-P., Robinson, A. C., Gadoev, M., and Oimuhammadzoda, I.: Was the Pamir salient built along a Late Paleozoic embayment on the southern Asian margin?, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 550, 116554, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116554, 2020.
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Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1670-AC1
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AC1: 'Reply on CC1', Hongxiang Wu, 15 Jun 2024
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