Correlation of Paleoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic events of the Korean Peninsula and China; Its implication to the tectonics of Northeast Asia

Abstract

Correlation of the Paleoproterozoic rocks of the Korean Peninsula and China has been considered to be important for the tectonic evolution of Northeast Asia, yet it is still unclear. Recently considerable new data have been obtained from the Korean Peninsula and China providing a better opportunity to correlate the Paleoproterozoic rocks of the Korean Peninsula and China. Intermediate–P/T metamorphism and post–collisional magmatism have been found to have occurred during ca. 1.95–1.83 Ga not only in the Jiao–Liao–Ji belt on the eastern North China Craton but also in the Nangrim and northern Gyeonggi Massifs within the Korean Peninsula representing that these Paleoproterozoic rocks can be correlated. These events occurred as a result of the collision between the Longgang Block of the eastern North China Craton and the Nangrim Massifs of the Korean Peninsula. On the other hand, the southeastern Gyeonggi Massif underwent an arc–related magmatic and metamorphic events during ca. 1.96–1.91 Ga suggesting that the Paleoproterozoic rocks in southeastern Gyeonggi Massif cannot be correlated with those in northern Gyeonggi Massif. The Yeongnam Massif is unlikely correlated to the Nangrim and northern Gyeonggi Massifs and the eastern North China Craton because arc–related igneous activity occurred during ca. 2.00–1.85 Ga in the Sobaeksan Gneiss Complex in the central to northeastern Yeongnam Massif. The Jirisan Gneiss Complex in the southwestern Yeongnam Massif underwent intermediate–P/T metamorphism that is followed by post–collisional magmatic and low–P/T metamorphic events during ca. 1.92–1.86 Ga and these events may be correlated to those in the eastern Cathaysia Block on the South China Craton. The Paleoproterozoic correlation between the Korean Peninsula and China in this study supports a tectonic model in which the Permo–Triassic Dabie–Sulu continental collision belt in China extends into the Hongseong–Odaesan collision belt in the Gyeonggi Massif within the Korean Peninsula.