Tectono-chronologic constraints on a Mesozoic slip and thrust belt in the eastern Jiaodong Peninsula

Abstract

A major slip and thrust belt within the eastern Jiaodong Peninsula is located at the eastern terminal of the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt between the Sino-Korea Block and Yangtze Block. Although a lot of isotope chronologic data have been obtained regionally, little structural chronological research has been conducted in this region and this paper corrects that. Syn-deformational minerals were systematically selected from samples of the NE-ENE trending transpressional shear zones and transpressional nappes and carefully analysed using 40 Ar/ 39 Ar methods. Two tectonic events were defined with the first event resulting from early movement of transpressional nappes around 190 Ma ago. This accords with the period of syn-orogenic sinistral slip of the Tan-Lu faults and clockwise shear in the Eastern Qinling-Tongbaishan part of the Qinling-Dabie-Sulu orogenic belt. The second event involved strikeslip thrust movement of deep shear zones between 130Ma and 120Ma. This resulted from the onset of Mesozoic tectonic conversion in the eastern Jiaodong Peninsula. The sinistral strikeslip-thrusting in Jiaodong Peninsula and the extensional tectonism (toward ESE) in Liaodong Peninsula probably resulted in the clockwise rotation of Korea Peninsula in late Mesozoic.