Origin of the serpentinites in the Lichi mélange, eastern Taiwan, China: implication from petrology and geochronology

Abstract

ABSTRACT Lichi melange, located in the southern coastal range, eastern Taiwan, China, is a typical tectonic melange of the plate’s boundary zone between the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. It formed during the collision of the Luzon arc with the Eurasian Continent (arc-continent collision). It is composed of sandstone and/or mudstone matrix and many kinds and sizes of rock fragments, including some sedimentary rocks, volcanic rocks and a few metamorphic rocks. The serpentinite is one of the common fragments in the Lichi melange. By the petrographic characteristics and the zircon U-Pb chronology analyses, protolith of the serpentinite is peridotite, the age is 17.7 ± 0.5 Ma. Taking the tectonic background into account, it is inferred that the serpentinite (serpentinised peridotite) come from the forearc basin (the North Luzon Trough) and was taken into the melange by a second thrust westwards. The origin of the serpentinite in Lichi melange is helpful to understand the formation of the Lichi melange and can provide reliable detailed information for the study of the arc-continent collision orogenic activity in and offshore Taiwan.