Eclogitic metasediments from central Qiangtang, Northern Tibet: Evidence for continental subduction during the eastern and western Qiangtang collision

Abstract

Eclogitic metasediments from the central Qiangtang metamorphic terrane provide new insights into the continental subduction during the eastern and western Qiangtang collision. Petrologic observations show that the metasediments correspond to meta-sandstones of a continental margin. It is characterized by the garnet + omphacite + rutile + phengite + quartz assemblage, and the peak metamorphic temperature and pressure were estimated to be 535 ± 40 °C and ∼27 kbar, respectively, by major element partitioning thermobarometry. Subsequent retrogression occurred at ∼472 ± 30 °C and ∼6–9 kbar. The occurrence of eclogitized central Qiangtang terrane indicates the subduction of the western Qiangtang passive continental margin beneath eastern Qiangtang when eastern and western Qiangtang collided along the Shuanghu suture.