Abstract
In order to better understand the late Paleozoic tectonic evolution of the southwestern Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), we carried out structural and geochronological studies on the poorly investigated Xiaergou and Wulasitai shear zones around and in the Chinese Central Tianshan. The Xiaergou shear zone is the connecting segment between the North Tianshan Fault and Main Tianshan Shear Zone along the northern margin of the Yili - Central Tianshan blocks, it strikes NW-SE with a width of ~3–5 km and shows predominant dextral kinematics. Zircon U–Pb ages of pre- and syn-kinematic granitic dykes within the Xiaergou shear zone indicate that the dextral shearing was active at ~312-295 Ma. The Wulasitai shear zone is a high-strain belt occurring in the interior of the Central Tianshan block, it extends NW-SE for more than 40 km with variable widths of ~1–5 km, steep mylonitic foliations and sub-horizontal stretching lineation are well developed and various kinematic indicators suggest prevailing sinistral shearing. New biotite 40Ar/39Ar ages of two meta-sedimentary rocks, together with the published metamorphic zircon ages constrain the timing of the sinistral shearing at ~312-301 Ma. Our new results combined with the previous studies reveal that the dextral strike-slip shear zones framing the Central Tianshan formed almost simultaneously in the latest Carboniferous (~310 Ma) and lasted until the middle to late Permian. They resulted from the eastward tectonic wedging and relative rotations between continental blocks in the SW CAOB. The sinistral shearing of the Wulasitai shear zone within the Central Tianshan was likely generated due to differential eastward motions of the northern and southern parts of the Central Tianshan.
Highlights
Transcurrent tectonics generally refers to large strike-slip faulting system in which the displacement vector is parallel to the strike of fault due to plate motions on a sphere (Freund, 1974; Onstott and Hargraves, 1981; Beck, 1983; Sylvester, 1988)
The Wulasitai shear zone (WSZ) is a remarkable subordinate highstrain deformation zone occurring within the Central Tianshan, it ex tends NW-SE, nearly parallel to the North Tianshan Fault (NTF) and Baluntai Fault (BF), for more than 40 km with variable widths of ~1–5 km (Figs. 2 and 7)
Based on our structural observations and kinematic analysis of prevalent macro- and micro-kinematic characteristics, the Xiaergou Shear Zone (XSZ) is dominated by a simple dextral shearing
Summary
Transcurrent tectonics generally refers to large strike-slip faulting system in which the displacement vector is parallel to the strike of fault due to plate motions on a sphere (Freund, 1974; Onstott and Hargraves, 1981; Beck, 1983; Sylvester, 1988). Transcurrent tectonics usually forms at plate boundaries by oblique plate convergence (Allen, 1965; Fossen et al, 1994; Dewey et al, 1998), and accretionary orogeny (Mann, 2007) It can develop as a transfer zone in a rift setting or a fold-and-thrust belt (Wilson, 1965; Moore, 1979). There is no consensus on the mechanism and geodynamic setting of their deformation so far In addition to these large shear zones along boundaries between major continental units, several subordinate strike-slip faults were reported within some continental blocks, in Journal of Structural Geology 144 (2021) 104279 which mylonitic rocks are widespread (e.g., Xingdi Fault, Cai et al, 2012; Hulashan Fault, Lin et al, 2013; Wulasitai shear zone, Yang et al, 2004; He et al, 2018a). This study places further constraints on the post-orogenic intracontinental evolution of the Tianshan Orogen, and provides new insights into the eastward wedging of tectonic units between the Tarim and Siberian blocks
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