A New Understanding on the Emplacement of Ophiolitic Mélanges and Its Tectonic Significance: Insights from the Structural Analysis of the Remnant Oceanic Basin‐Type Ophiolitic Mélanges

Abstract

AbstractOphiolites represent on‐land fragments of paleo‐oceanic crust and have been recognized as one of the key markers of suture zones. Here, we provide new insights into the emplacement of ophiolitic mélanges based on detailed geological mapping and structural analysis in the West Junggar and Songpan‐Ganzi‐Bayan Har orogens (Fig.1 and Fig.2). The results show that some ophiolitic mélange belts cannot be regarded as suture zones. The distribution of these ophiolitic mélange belts are usually associated with the structural processes during the closure of remnant oceanic basins. After the remnant‐oceanic basin is filled with thick clastic deposit, the oceanic lithosphere material as the base of the remnant basin can be injected into the overlying sedimentary strata through various faultings under the regional compressive stress, forming the remnant oceanic basin‐type ophiolitic mélange system with dispersive distribution characteristics. Combining with previous researches, the emplacement mechanism of ophiolitic mélanges can be divided into four categories: subduction type which oceanic lithosphere subducted beneath active continental margin, obduction type which oceanic lithosphere obducted over passive continental margin, collision type between two continental lithospheres, and closure type of remnant‐oceanic basin (Fig.3). These different types of ophiolitic mélange belts will be superimposed and even re‐emplacement by the tectonic processes of post‐plate convergence, complicating their distribution. Therefore, identifying the emplacement mechanism type of ophiolitic mélange belts formed in different tectonic processes and backgrounds is of importance for understanding the process of ocean‐continental transition and the evolution of orogenic belts.