Jiamusi Massif Research Articles

P-T evolutions of blueschists from the Heilongjiang Complex along the western margin of the Jiamusi Massif, NE China

P-T evolutions of blueschists from the Heilongjiang Complex along the western margin of the Jiamusi Massif, NE China

Was the easternmost segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt derived from Gondwana or Siberia: An intriguing dilemma?

The Khanka Massif forms the easternmost segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) in NE China and its tectonic setting is highly controversial. Metasedimentary rocks from the Hulin Complex and the Mt. Huoshi sequence were selected to address this issue. For the Hulin Complex, SHRIMP detrital zircon U–Pb dating of a two-mica schist (sample HL-011) reveals a unimodal population with a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 257 ± 3 Ma, suggesting local derivation from nearby Permian granitoids. In contrast, a quartz schist (sample 04H-138) contains five zircon populations with ages of 233–270 Ma, 350–400 Ma, 473–570 Ma, 720–760 Ma and 930–970 Ma, and peaks at 252, 350, 520, 758 and 970 Ma, indicating a much more diverse provenance. Two samples of fine-grained gneiss were selected from Mt Houshi, with sample 06H-15 containing four zircon populations, with groupings at 260–340 Ma, 470–560 Ma, 710–940 Ma and a single grain at 2090 Ma, whereas zircons in sample 06H-16 define two populations with ages of 727–854 Ma, with a peak at 776 Ma, and a single grain with an age of 404 ± 13 Ma. The youngest detrital zircon was obtained from sample 04H-138 and has a 206Pb/238U age of 233 ± 9 Ma, limiting deposition of the Hulin Complex to after ∼233 Ma. The late Pan-African and Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic ages, together with the ∼500 Ma age for granulite facies metamorphism previously determined for the Hutou Complex in the Khanka Massif, indicate that the Khanka and Jiamusi massifs (together with the Bureya Massif in Russia) formed a contiguous crustal unit. Detrital zircon data suggest that this combined block was not part of either the North China or the South China cratons. Instead, it was either derived from a peri-Gondwana position, a rifted portion of the Songliao Massif in the CAOB, an exotic block of unknown affinity, or from the Siberia Craton. We evaluate the possibility that the Khanka/Jiamusi/Bureya block may have originated in Siberia and once formed part of the Sayan-Baikal orogen at ∼500 Ma. Whatever its origin, the block drifted westward to collide with the Songliao Massif of NE China in the latest Triassic-Early Jurassic as a result of the onset of Pacific-plate subduction. It thus forms part of the evolving supercontinent of Eurasia.

Pan-African metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Khanka Massif, NE China: further evidence regarding their affinity

AbstractThe Khanka Massif is a crustal block located along the eastern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) and bordered to the east by Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous circum-Pacific accretionary complexes of the Eastern Asian continental margin. It consists of graphite-, sillimanite- and cordierite-bearing gneisses, carbonates and felsic paragneisses, in association with various orthogneisses. Metamorphic zircons from a sillimanite gneiss from the Hutou complex yield a weighted mean206Pb/238U age of 490 ± 4 Ma, whereas detrital zircons from the same sample give ages from 934–610 Ma. Magmatic zircon cores in two garnet-bearing granite gneiss samples, also collected from the Hutou complex, yield weighted mean206Pb/238U ages of 522 ± 5 Ma and 515 ± 8 Ma, whereas their metamorphic rims record206Pb/238U ages of 510–500 Ma. These data indicate that the Hutou complex in the Khanka Massif records early Palaeozoic magmatic and metamorphic events, identical in age to those in the Mashan Complex of the Jiamusi Massif to the west. The older zircon populations in the sillimanite gneiss indicate derivation from Neoproterozoic sources, as do similar rocks in the Jiamusi Massif. These data confirm that the Khanka Massif has a close affinity with other major components of the CAOB to the west of the Dun-Mi Fault. Based on these results and previously published data, the Khanka Massif is therefore confirmed as having formed a single crustal entity with the Jiamusi (and possibly the Bureya) massif since Neoproterozoic time.

The Jurassic accretions on the eastern border of Central Asian Orogenic Belt: evidences from the glaucophanic metamorphic sequences (Heilongjiang Complex) in the Jiamusi Massif, NE China

The Jurassic accretions on the eastern border of Central Asian Orogenic Belt: evidences from the glaucophanic metamorphic sequences (Heilongjiang Complex) in the Jiamusi Massif, NE China

Newly discovered garnet-barroisite schists from the Heilongjiang Complex in the Jiamusi Massif, northeastern China

Newly found garnet-barroisite schists from the Heilongjiang Complex in the Yilan area, northeastern China, are petrographically described. They are composed mainly of albite, amphibole, phengite, epidote, garnet, quartz, titanite and magnetite, with minor amounts of stilpnomelane, apatite, hematite, rutile, and ilmenite. The metamorphism of the garnet-barroisite schists are divided into three stages: pre-peak stage of the epidote-blueschist facies; peak stage of the epidote-amphibolite facies (T = 500-540 °C and P = 10-12 kbar); and retrograde stage of the greenschist facies. These results reveal a clockwise high-P/T path for the garnet-barroisite schists in the Heilongjiang Complex.

Detrital-zircon geochronology of Late Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in eastern Heilongjiang Province, NE China: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

We undertook LA-ICP-MS U–Pb dating of detrital zircons from Late Paleozoic sedimentary rocks in eastern Heilongjiang Province, NE China, with the aim of constraining the tectonic evolution of the eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). Detrital zircons from quartz sandstone of the Devonian Heilonggong Formation in the Zhangguangcai Range yield age populations of ∼ 2503, ∼ 1833, ∼ 903, ∼ 802, and 551–403 Ma. Zircons from quartz sandstone of the Devonian Baoquan Formation in the Lesser Xing'an Range yield age clusters at ∼ 2500, ∼ 800, and 489–425 Ma. These ages reveal that: (1) rocks from the Heilonggong and Baoquan formations were deposited after 391 and 413 Ma, respectively; (2) these rocks were sourced from regions with rocks as old as ∼ 2500 Ma, with dominant age populations of ∼ 2500, ∼ 1833, 903–800, and 551–403 Ma; and (3) in addition to new lower crust accreted during the Phanerozoic (as revealed by voluminous Phanerozoic granitoids with positive εNd values within the CAOB), it appears that several remnants of an ancient Precambrian basement occur adjacent to these Late Paleozoic basins (e.g., the Shangzhi, Tangyuan, and Baoqing basins) that occur within microcontinental massifs including the Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range, Xing'an, and Erguna massifs. Detrital zircons from quartz sandstone of the Devonian Heitai Formation on the eastern margin of the Jiamusi Massif yield peak age populations of 569, 542, 509, and 484 Ma, similar to those obtained from zircons within the Mashan Group of the Jiamusi Massif. These age data indicate that: (1) deposition of the Heitai Formation on the eastern margin of the Jiamusi Massif had started by 484 Ma, and (2) these sediments were sourced entirely from the Jiamusi Massif. The widespread occurrence of detrital zircons with ages of 480–550 Ma within Late Paleozoic basins in the Lesser Xing'an–Zhangguangcai Ranges and the Jiamusi Massif, combined with the presence of a Caledonian (445–499 Ma) I-type granitoid belt in the Lesser Xing'an–Zhangguangcai Ranges, indicates that amalgamation of the Songnen–Zhangguangcai Range and Jiamusi massifs took place before the Early Devonian, probably during the late stage of the Early Paleozoic (after ∼ 445 Ma).

Geoelectrical Evidence for Characteristics of Lithospheric Structure Beneath the Yuejinshan Collage Zone and Its Vicinity in Northeast Asia

AbstractTo make a thorough investigation of the contact relations among northeast Asian Wandashan terrane and its both sides Jiamusi massif and Xingkai massif, and its control functions of the oil‐gas conditions to Yuejinshan collage zone field deposit basin, we have deployed 5 MT sounding profiles with. A total length of 1104 km. The survey results are as follows: (1) The major characteristic of geoelectricity structure in the study area is that the stable high resistivity core of the Jiamusi massif gets thinner from the middle part to south and north directions, the Xingkai massif of high resistivity is deepening and thickening from east to west and the south of Wandashan terrane has much more high resistivity bodies gradually decreasing to the north. (2) The southwest part of the Wandashan terrane shows “ox horn” shape and separates the Jiamusi massif and Xingkai massif apart. Compared with the original joint positions of the Wandashan terrane and Jiamusi massif in the Tongjiang‐Baoqing‐Dangbi belt, the new positions move to the south from Baoqing to the Mashan‐Hualin belt. (3) There are two possible causes for structure formation in the Wandashan terrane, one is emergence by subduction, and the other is thermal upwelling of asthenospheric materials. Maybe the edge of the high resistivity core which exists in the Jiamusi massif is the eastern boundary of the massif. (4) In the 4 basins, except the Boli basin, high resistivity bodies of small scales and many high‐conductivity zones are present in the basements, which are favorable for the generation setting of hydrocarbon.

40Ar/39Ar ages of the high-P/T metamorphic rocks of the Heilongjiang Complex in the Jiamusi Massif, northeastern China

The Heilongjiang Complex in northeastern China is composed mainly of alternating blueschists and pelitic schists which underwent high-P/T type metamorphism of the epidote blueschist facies. Phengites in the pelitic schists from two areas in the Heilongjiang Complex yielded 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages of 165 ± 0.8 Ma (Mudanjiang area) and 171 ± 0.7 Ma (Yilan area). Phengites in blueschists from the Yilan area give 40Ar/39Ar isochron ages of 145 ± 0.9 Ma and 146 ± 1.3 Ma. The previously reported peak metamorphic temperature of 350-450 °C for the Heilongjiang Complex is close to the Ar retention temperatures of white mica, suggesting that the ages reported here closely date the metamorphic culmination in this complex. These ages indicate that a widespread high-P/T metamorphism occurred in the Heilongjiang Complex at 165-171 Ma. Subsequent to this period, a similar type of metamorphism continued at least until 145-146 Ma in the Yilian area.

Garnet barroisite schists in the Heilongjiang Complex from the Jiamusi Massif, northeastern China

Garnet barroisite schists in the Heilongjiang Complex from the Jiamusi Massif, northeastern China

Permian volcanisms in eastern and southeastern margins of the Jiamusi Massif, northeastern China: zircon U-Pb chronology, geochemistry and its tectonic implications

LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating and geochemical data for the Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks from eastern and southeastern margins of the Jiamusi Massif are presented to understand the regional tectonic evolution. Zircons from eight representative volcanic rocks are euhedral-subhedral in shape and display striped absorption and fine-scale oscillatory growth zoning as well as high Th/U ratios (0.33–2.37), implying a magmatic origin. The dating results show that the Late Paleozoic volcanic rocks in the study area can be divided into two stages, i.e., the Early Permian (a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 288 Ma) and the Middle Permian volcanisms (a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of 268 Ma). The former is composed mainly of basalt, basaltic-andesite, andesite and minor dacite. They are characterized by low SiO2 contents, high Mg# (0.40–0.59), enrichment in Na (Na2O/K2O = 1.26–4.25) and light rare earth elements (LREEs), relative depletion in heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) and high field strength elements (HFSEs), indicating that an active continental margin setting could exist in the eastern margin of the Jiamusi Massif in the Early Permian. The latter consists mainly of rhyolite and minor dacite with high SiO2 (77.23%–77.52%), low MgO (0.11%–0.14%), enrichment in K2O (Na2O/K2O ratios < 0.80) and Rb, Th, U and depletion in Eu, Sr, P and Ti, implying a crust-derived origin. Therefore, it is proposed that the Middle Permian volcanic rocks could have formed under the collision of the Jiamusi and the Khanka Massifs.

40Ar/39Ar ages of the high-P/T metamorphic rocks of the Heilongjiang Complex in the Jiamusi Massif, northeastern China

40Ar/39Ar ages of the high-P/T metamorphic rocks of the Heilongjiang Complex in the Jiamusi Massif, northeastern China

The Heilongjiang Group: A Jurassic accretionary complex in the Jiamusi Massif at the western Pacific margin of northeastern China

Abstract The tectonic setting of the Eastern Asian continental margin in the Jurassic is highly controversial. In the current study, we have selected the Heilongjiang complex located at the western margin of the Jiamusi Massif in northeastern China for geochronological investigation to address this issue. Field and petrographic investigations indicate that the Heilongjiang complex is composed predominately of granitic gneiss, marble, mafic‐ultramafic rocks, blueschist, greenschist, quartzite, muscovite‐albite schist and two‐mica schist that were tectonically interleaved, indicating they represent a mélange. The marble, two‐mica schist and granitic gneiss were most probably derived from the Mashan complex, a high‐grade gneiss complex in the Jiamusi Massif with which the Heilongjiang Group is intimately associated. The ultramafic rocks, blueschist, greenschist and quartzite (chert) are similar to components in ophiolite. The sensitive high mass‐resolution ion microprobe U‐Pb zircon age of 265 ± 4 Ma for the granitic gneiss indicates that the protolith granite was emplaced coevally with Permian batholiths in the Jiamusi Massif. 40Ar/39Ar dating of biotite and phengite from the granitic gneiss and mica schist yields a late Early Jurassic metamorphic age between 184 and 174 Ma. Early components of the Jiamusi Massif, including the Mashan complex, probably formed part of an exotic block from Gondwana, affected by late Pan‐African orogenesis, and collided with the Asian continental margin during the Early Jurassic. Subduction of oceanic crust between the Jiamusi block and the eastern part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt resulted in the formation of a huge volume of Jurassic granites in the Zhangguangcai Range. Consequently, the collision of the Jiamusi Massif with the Central Asian Orogenic Belt to the west can be considered as the result of circum‐Pacific accretion, unrelated to the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The widespread development of Jurassic accretionary complexes along the Asian continental margin supports such an interpretation.

Late Pan-African magmatism in northeastern China: SHRIMP U–Pb zircon evidence from granitoids in the Jiamusi Massif

We present the first evidence of late Pan-African magmatism in the Jiamusi Massif of northeastern China. Recent SHRIMP U–Pb zircon studies of the Mashan Complex have identified a major ∼500 Ma granulite facies metamorphic event in the area, but no older igneous rocks have previously been dated. Two granitoid samples have been analysed using SHRIMP U–Pb zircon techniques: a deformed granitoid from near Sandaogou contains zircons with well-defined oscillatory zoning that define a weighted mean 206 Pb / 238 U age of 523±8 Ma, taken to be the age of the granite protolith; and a weakly-deformed porphyritic granite from near Jiamusi, which also contains zircons with oscillatory zoning of igneous origin, has a weighted mean 206 Pb / 238 U Ma crystallisation age of 515±8 Ma. In addition, a deformed pegmatite from Liu Mao, which contains oscillatory-zoned igneous zircons, was also analysed. These zircons are rich in uranium and the data are discordant, so their interpretation is not equivocal. If the four oldest 207 Pb / 206 Pb ratios are taken to represent the minimum age of zircon crystallisation, they define an age of 501±18 Ma. Several zircon crystals from both granite samples also reveal evidence of recrystallisation in cathodoluminescence (CL) images and this has been dated at 505±4 and 497±5 Ma in the Sandaogou and Jiamusi samples, respectively. This is the timing of granulite facies metamorphism in the southern area of the Mashan Complex and these ages are only slightly older than the ∼490 Ma granulite facies metamorphism identified in southern Siberia, possibly indicating that they had a common evolution. Alternatively, the presence of plutonic igneous rocks with ages between ∼515 and ∼525 Ma in the Jiamusi Massif is comparable to several other late Pan-African terranes. In particular, the timing of granite emplacement at ∼515 Ma and high-grade metamorphism at ∼500 Ma is identical to events recorded in the Delamerian Orogen of South Australia. The recent discovery of ∼500 Ma metamorphic zircons in the Halls Reward metamorphic belt in Queensland, NE Australia, may indicate a continuation of late Pan-African events across Australia, supporting the view that the Jiamusi Massif lay along the northern margin of Australia at this time, together with the Tarim, North China and South China blocks.

The nature of basement beneath the Songliao Basin in NE China: geochemical and isotopic constraints

The Songliao Basin, located in northeastern China with an area of about 260,000 km2 and having the Daqing Oil Field as the most important center of the petroleum industry in China, is much debated about the basement nature. According to the drill holes, its basement is mainly composed of granites and the Paleozoic strata, some of which have undergone weak metamorphism and somewhat deformation. Gneiss has also been identified, but the petrographical studies indicate that the gneiss is in fact deformed granitic intrusions. Therefore, the granites are the major rock types beneath the Songliao Basin. Geochemical research indicates that these granites are peraluminous, and generated mainly by partial melting of juvenile crust. Geochronological studies show that one undeformed granitic sample gives an U-Pb age of 305 ± 2 Ma, and the mylonitic granite yields an U-Pb age of 165 ± 3 Ma; neither sample contains inherited zircon, which suggests that the basement of the Songliao Basin is not Precambrian, but part of Phanerozoic orogenic belt. With respect to Sr-Nd isotopes, these basement granites are characterized by low ISr (≈0.705), high εNd(t) (−2.2–+2.4) and young Nd model ages (690 to 1160 Ma with most less than 1000 Ma) which is the same as that of the granites in the surrounding orogenic belts such as the Zhangguangcai, Great Xing'an and Lessor Xing'an Ranges, but distinctly different from granites emplaced in the adjacent Precambrian Jiamusi Massif. The simple mass balance calculation indicates that the mixing between the depleted mantle and ancient crust could not reasonably explain the Sr-Nd isotopic features, but the mixing modeling between the juvenile and pre-exited ancient crust suggests that the granites would have about 90% of the juvenile crustal component. Therefore, the Sr-Nd isotopic studies suggest that the basement of the Songliao Basin is juvenile crust, identical to the surrounding orogenic belts, and that there is no Precambrian basement to the Songliao Basin.

Extension of a newly identified 500 Ma metamorphic terrane in North East China: further U–Pb SHRIMP dating of the Mashan Complex, Heilongjiang Province, China

New single zircon SHRIMP U–Pb dating of paragneiss and garnet-bearing granite from the Mashan Complex in the Jiamusi Massif at Sandaogou and Xi Mashan, Heilongjiang Province, China, indicates that these rocks underwent granulite facies metamorphism ∼500 Ma ago. Sillimanite gneiss from Sandaogou contains a single population of metamorphic zircons which have a 206Pb/ 238U age of 496±8 Ma. Sillimanite gneiss from Xi Mashan, approximately 16 km west of Sandaogou, has a 206Pb/ 238U metamorphic zircon age of ∼500 Ma, but also includes several populations of detrital zircon grains that extend back to ∼1700 Ma. A garnetiferous granite from Xi Mashan has a 206Pb/ 238U igneous zircon age of 507±12 Ma. It contains an enclave of garnet paragneiss and this has a metamorphic zircon age of ∼500 Ma. The enclave also contains zircons that extend back to ∼1900 Ma, with a concordant population at ∼1100 Ma. These data establish that the southern outcrop of the Mashan Complex, extending west from Liu Mao to Xi Mashan, a total distance of 22 km, records the same early Palaeozoic metamorphic event. The older zircon populations in the sillimanite gneiss and garnet gneiss enclave from Xi Mashan indicate derivation from both Palaeo- and Mesoproterozoic sources. These data, together with the ∼500 Ma age for the granulite facies metamorphic event, suggest that the Mashan Complex formed part of a Late Neoproterozoic–Early Palaeozoic orogenic terrane. High-grade metamorphic rocks of slightly younger age (∼480 Ma) are recorded from southern Siberia to the north of the study area, whereas slightly older ages (550–515 Ma) are recorded from various Pan-African terranes formerly associated with Gondwanaland. However, the closest analogue in the literature is with the Delamerian Orogen in southern Australia, where high-grade metamorphism has been dated at 503±7 Ma. Although speculative, it is argued that the Mashan Complex may possibly once have been located in Gondwanaland, drifting northward along with the North China, South China and Tarim blocks to dock with the Siberian Craton sometime between the late Permian and late Jurassic.

Geological Setting and Controls on the Development of Graphite, Sillimanite and Phosphate Mineralization within the Jiamusi Massif: An Exotic Fragment of Gondwanaland Located in North-Eastern China?

China is the world's biggest producer and exporter of graphite and also possesses the world's largest reserves of crystalline graphite. One of the main production areas is in northeastern China around Jixi, in Heilongjiang Province, where graphite, sillimanite and phosphate form in original sedimentary horizons within the Mashan Group. The Mashan Group is composed of khondalitic metasediments and tectonically interleaved orthogneisses, all metamorphosed to granulite facies. The peak conditions have been calculated at 800–850°C at 5.3–6.2 kb and the P–T–t path defines a tight clockwise loop involving simultaneous decrease in temperature and pressure, falling to 410–490°C at less than 3 kb. This metamorphic event is interpreted as resulting from continent–continent collision, with emplacement of mantle–derived mafic magma and possible delamination at the base of the crust. Metamorphism has been precisely dated at 500 Ma, using U–Pb zircon SHRIMP techniques. It appears likely that this terrane formed part of an originally more extensive orogenic belt of Late Pan–African age. Rocks of similar age are recorded from east Antarctica, Western Australia, India and Sri Lanka, suggesting that the Mashan Group was most likely juxtaposed with these areas within Gondwanaland. The mechanism by which the Mashan Group arrived at its present position between the Siberian and North China Cratons is poorly constrained, but it appears likely that, along with the North China, South China and Tarim Blocks, it underwent a northward drift from an initial location off northern Australia to finally dock with the Siberian Craton in the Late Permian to Late Jurassic.

High pressure metamorphic rocks and their tectonic environment in northeastern China

This paper deals with the high-pressure metamorphic rocks mainly of the Ondor Sum Group in Inner Mongolia and the Heilongjiang Group in the Jiamusi massif. A high pressure/low temperature metamorphic mineral assemblage of glaucophane schist facies and greenschist facies characterized by lawsonite, jadeitic pyroxene, glaucophane and pumpellyite has been recognized in the Ondor Sum Group. In northeastern China the high pressure metamorphic rocks are mainly distributed in the ancient intercontinental area, north of the Sino-Korean platform. A part of them is distributed on the outer margin of the Caledonian fold belt along the north edge of the Sino-Korean platform and it was dated at 445.6 ± 15 Ma by 39Ar/ 40Ar isochron method on glaucophane schist and at 509 ± 40 Ma by RbSr isochron method on whole rock of meta-basalt. These isotopic data indicate an early Paleozoic age of the subduction on the north edge of the Sino-Korean platform. The other part is the Heilongjiang Group of Jiamusi massif on the outer margin of the Xingkaiian fold belt. The Heilongjiang Group was intruded by a granite of 460 Ma (KAr). The lithological feature of the high pressure metamorphic rocks of the Heilongjiang Group is possibly correlated to that in the Altay-Sayan district (540–900 Ma). These facts suggest a probable Sinian-early Cambrian subduction.