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Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65 – 80
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The Liaonan metamorphic core complex, Southeastern Liaoning
Province, North China: A likely contributor to Cretaceous
rotation of Eastern Liaoning, Korea and contiguous areas
Liu Junlai a,*, Gregory A. Davis b,c, Lin Zhiyong d, Wu Fuyuan e
a
State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources and Key Laboratory of Lithospere Tectonics and
Lithoprobing Technology of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, 29, Xueyuan Road, 100083, Beijing, China
b
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0740, USA
c
College of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
d
Research and Development Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing 100037, Beijing, China
e
Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing P.O.Box 9825, 100029, Beijing, China
Received 18 July 2004; received in revised form 1 July 2005; accepted 9 July 2005
Available online 16 August 2005
Abstract
The Mesozoic Liaonan metamorphic core complex (mcc) of the southeastern Liaoning province, North China, is an
asymmetric Cordilleran-style complex with a west-rooting master detachment fault, the Jinzhou fault. A thick sequence of
lower plate, fault-related mylonitic and gneissic rocks derived from Archean and Early Cretaceous crystalline protoliths has
been transported ESE-ward from mid-crustal depths. U–Pb ages of lower plate syntectonic plutons (ca. 130–120 Ma),
40
Ar–39Ar cooling ages in the mylonitic and gneissic sequence (ca. 120–110 Ma), and a Cretaceous supradetachment basin
attest to the Early Cretaceous age of this extensional complex. The recent discovery of the coeval and similarly west-rooting
Waziyu mcc in western Liaoning [Darby, B.J., Davis, G.A., Zhang, X., Wu, F., Wilde, S., Yang, J., 2004. The newly discovered
Waziyu metamorphic core complex, Yiwulushan, western Liaoning Province, North China. Earth Science Frontiers 11, 145–
155] indicates that the Gulf of Liaoning, which lies between the two complexes, was the center of a region of major crustal
extension.
Clockwise crustal rotation of a large region including eastern Liaoning province and the Korean Peninsula with respect
to a non-rotated North China block has been conclusively documented by paleomagnetic studies over the past decade. The
timing of this rotation and the reasons for it are controversial. Lin et al. [Lin, W., Chen, Y., Faure, M., Wang, Q., 2003.
Tectonic implication of new Late Cretaceous paleomagnetic constraints from Eastern Liaoning Peninsula, NE China.
Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (B-6) (EPM 5-1 to 5-17)] proposed that a clockwise rotation of 22.58 F 10.28 was
largely post-Early Cretaceous in age, and was the consequence of extension within a crustal domain that tapers southwards
towards the Bohai Sea (of which the Gulf of Liaoning is the northernmost part). Paleomagnetic studies of Early Cretaceous
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 010 8232 2156.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Liu).
0040-1951/$ - see front matter D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2005.07.001
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J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
strata (ca 134–120 Ma) in the Yixian–Fuxin supradetachment basin of the Waziyu mcc indicate the non-rotation of North
China and the basin [Zhu, R.X., Shao, J.A., Pan, Y.X., Shi, R.P., Shi, G.H., Li, D.M., 2002. Paleomagnetic data from
Early Cretaceous volcanic rocks of West Liaoning: Evidence for intracontinental rotation. Chinese Science Bulletin 47,
1832–1837]. Such upper-plate non-rotation supports our conclusion that the lower plates of the Waziyu and Liaonan
metamorphic core complexes were displaced ESE-ward in an absolute sense away from the stable North China block, thus
contributing to the rotation of Korea and contiguous areas. Rotation is inferred to have affected only the upper crust above
mid-crustal levels into which we believe the Jinzhou and Waziyu detachment fault zones flattened. If this is the case, the
regional Tan Lu fault that lies between the two core complexes was truncated at mid-crustal depth, since in areas to the
south it forms the boundary between the North and South China lithospheric blocks. It is noteworthy that the two
extensional complexes lie not far north of the Bohai Bay, the area proposed by Lin et al. [Lin, W., Chen, Y., Faure, M.,
Wang, Q., 2003. Tectonic implication of new Late Cretaceous paleomagnetic constraints from Eastern Liaoning Peninsula,
NE China. Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (B-6) (EPM 5-1 to 5-17)] as the site of the pole of rotation for Korea’s
clockwise displacement.
Lin et al. [Lin, W., Chen, Y., Faure, M., Wang, Q., 2003. Tectonic implication of new Late Cretaceous paleomagnetic
constraints from Eastern Liaoning Peninsula, NE China. Journal of Geophysical Research 108 (B-6), (EPM 5-1 to 5-17)] were
unaware of the Liaonan and Waziyu mcc’s and argued that most of the regional block rotation was post-Early Cretaceous and, in
part, early Cenozoic. However, the ca. 130–120 Ma ages of the two Liaoning mcc’s and a Songliao basin mcc (Xujiaweizi), the
latter discovered only by recent drilling through its younger stratigraphic cover, support our and some Korean coworkers’
conclusions that most of the clockwise rotation was Early Cretaceous.
D 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Liaonan metamorphic core complex; Early Cretaceous; Crustal rotation; Eastern Asia
1. Introduction
The late Mesozoic and early Cenozoic was a period of major lithospheric thinning and crustal extension in the North China (Sino-Korean) bcratonQ
following a long and complicated history of late
Paleozoic and earlier Mesozoic contractional deformation (Menzies and Xu, 1998; Griffin et al., 1998;
Xu, 2001; Davis et al., 2001). This period was characterized by the widespread development of Early
Cretaceous half graben sedimentary basins (e.g.,
Zhang, 1997; Hu et al., 1998; Ma, 2001; Ren et al.,
2002; Meng, 2003), by scattered and isolated development of metamorphic core complexes, including
the Liaonan complex discussed here (e.g., Zheng
and Zhang, 1994; Davis et al., 1996, 2002; Webb et
al., 1999; Darby et al., 2004), and by alkalic A-type
magmatism and associated gold mineralization (e.g.,
Zhang and Xu, 1998; Webb et al., 1999; Davis et al.,
2002; Darby et al., 2004).
The existence of extensional structures in the Liaonan area was first discussed by Xu et al. (1991) who
proposed processes of contraction and extension
related to Indosinian orogenesis at about 250 Ma.
Xu et al. (1994) later suggested that the Liaonan
mylonitic rocks could be attributed to N–S shortening
during Indosinian (Triassic) to Early Yanshanian (Jurassic) deformation. The concept of an extensional
Liaonan metamorphic core complex (mcc) was first
applied by the Liaoning Bureau of Geology and
Mineral Resources (LBGMR, 1994), and later amplified by Yang et al. (1996) and Yin and Nie (1996).
Yang et al. (1996) suggested that the extensional
complex was the consequence of magmatic upwelling
and emplacement related to Triassic subduction of the
Pacific plate beneath Eurasia. Yin and Nie (1996),
relying on 40Ar/39Ar age determinations for lower
plate mylonites and quartzofeldspathic dikes in the
mylonites, proposed a Cretaceous age for mcc extension. This paper describes the geologic characteristics
and age of the Liaonan metamorphic core complex
and presents new data and interpretations on its tectonic significance in eastern Asia.
The Liaonan complex is located in the southern
part of the Liaodong Peninsula of Liaoning province
(Fig. 1). It consists of three major elements—the
Jinzhou master detachment fault, a lower plate of
Archean metamorphic rocks, Early Cretaceous syntectonic (synextensional) intrusions and fault-related
mylonitic and gneissic rocks, and an upper plate
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
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Fig. 1. Geological map of Liaonan mcc.
supradetachment basin of Cretaceous age and its basement rocks (weakly deformed Neoproterozoic and
Lower Paleozoic sedimentary rocks).
2. Structural associations and major components
of the core complex
2.1. Jinzhou detachment fault and lower plate rock
assemblages
The controlling structural element of the Liaonan
mcc is the Jinzhou fault, which has an arcuate map
trace resulting from antiformal folding (Fig. 1). Its
western segment strikes NNE and dips WNW,
whereas a southerly segment, east of Jinzhou, strikes
ENE and dips SSE (Fig. 1). Whether the folded
detachment fault is due to synextensional folding at
high angles to the extension direction, as observed in
other mcc’s (cf. Davis and Lister, 1988; Lister and
Davis, 1989; Davis et al., 2002), or formed after
extension has not yet been resolved.
Lower plate Archean gneiss was mainly derived
from granitic plutons (Zhang et al., 1994; Gang et al.,
1999). Supracrustal rocks are present as xenoliths in
the Archean orthogneisses. All Archean rocks, both
supracrustal and plutonic, are of lower amphibolite
grade, and were retrograded under greenschist facies
conditions (Yang, 1985; Zhang et al., 1994; Gang
et al., 1999; Wang and Wang, 2001).
The Archean orthogneisses are generally tonalitic,
trondhjemitic and granodioritic in composition, with
biotite and hornblende contents that vary from 18%–
31%. Pb–Pb dating of single grain zircons from the
gneisses gave ages of 2467 F 18 Ma and 2773 F 50
Ma (LBGMR, 1994); more recently, LA-ICPMS dat-
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J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
ing of zircon grains from granodioritic gneisses in the
complex yielded U–Pb ages of 2501 F17 Ma and
2436 F 17 Ma (Lu et al., 2004).
Precambrian crystalline rocks underlying the
detachment fault have been transformed by shearing
and partial to complete recrystallization into mylonitic
gneisses and related tectonites under conditions of the
amphibolite to upper greenschist facies. Tectonites
thus formed exhibit a clear increase in fabric development upwards towards the master detachment fault.
The mylonitic rocks grade downwards into faultrelated schist and gneiss in which all minerals exhibit
crystal–plastic recrystallization. These hotter, deeper
fault-related rocks transit downward into the preextensional Precambrian basement assemblage. Mylonitic foliation generally parallels the Jinzhou fault,
although locally the fault cuts early-formed (but fault
related) mylonitic fabrics at small angles, reflecting a
protracted history of uplift (cf. Lister and Davis, 1989;
Davis et al., 2002). Near Jinzhou, the strike of mylonitic foliation changes gradually from NNE to ENE
across a narrow (ca 1000 m wide) zone within the
antiformal hinge area between the western and southern branches of the detachment fault (Figs. 1 and
2a,b). In contrast to the variation in foliation orientation, stretching and mineral lineations have consistent orientations in different parts in the footwall of
the mcc (Fig. 2c). Both mineral and mylonitic lineations plunge ca 3108 in the western part of the
detachment fault zone, and ca. 1308 in the southern
zone (Figs. 1 and 2c). As discussed and interpreted
in the following section, there is a gradual transition
from magmatic mineral lineation in some lower plate
plutons (e.g. Yinmawanshan pluton) to parallel mylo-
nitic lineations in the detachment zone above them
(Fig. 2c).
Strongly foliated mylonitic rocks in uppermost
levels of the lower plate are typically overprinted by
brittle structures and microstructures. The cataclasized
rocks just below the Jinzhou fault exhibit varying
degrees of shattering, brecciation, grain size reduction
by shearing with included lenses (phacoids) of relict
mylonitic rocks, and local occurrence of pseudotachylite and gouge. Sparse pseudotachylite is present
locally along the main fault and up to several tens
of meters below in breccias and chloritic breccias.
Due to involvement of fluid phases during deformation, most mafic minerals in the cataclasized tectonites
become chloritized, leading to the occurrence of distinctive chloritic breccias (Lister and Davis, 1989; Lin
et al., 2002). Pseudotachylite in the brecciated zone
occurs as black, irregular networks of microcrystalline
(now) veins with geometric characteristics of injection. The total thickness of ductile and brittle faultrelated rock units in the deformation zone beneath the
Jinzhou fault ranges from about 700 m near Jinzhou to
about 250 m near Pulandian; the zone dies out in areas
north of Fig. 1.
2.2. Synkinematic Cretaceous intrusions
Syntectonic granitic intrusions, interpreted as Atype by Guo et al. (2004) and Wu et al. (2005), are
important components of the Liaonan lower plate
(Fig. 1). They are typically in either direct contact
with the Jinzhou detachment fault or lie in close
proximity to it. These intrusions were emplaced at
different stages of core complex development (U–Pb
Fig. 2. Stereographic projections (lower hemisphere) of foliation in detachment fault zones, and mylonitic and mineral lineations (c) in the
Liaonan mcc. a. Projection of foliations in NNE detachment fault zone; b. projection of foliations in ENE detachment fault zone; c. point
diagram for all mcc lineation (in total 45 data): solid triangles—NNE branch detachment fault zone (20 data); solid squares—ENE branch
detachment fault zone (17 data); circles—Yinmawanshan monzogranite (8 data).
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
zircon ages of ca. 129 to 122 Ma, Guo et al., 2004;
Wu et al., 2005), but all exhibit concordant relationships with their wall rocks.
A typical example of the major syntectonic intrusions in the mcc is the multiple-stage Yinmawanshan
granodiorite–granite complex (Fig. 1; Guo et al.,
2004). Two zones are recognized in the complex, an
early marginal zone of granodiorite and porphyritic
monzogranite, and a younger inner zone of finer
grained granodiorite. Biotite defines a weak magmatic
foliation in the inner zone. Although most minerals in
the inner zone have weak dimensional and crystallographic orientations, they do not show obvious
intracrystalline fabrics. The magmatic foliation in
the inner zone, and the inner zone–outer zone boundary generally have very high dip angles (ca 608 to
808), suggesting that a vertical emplacement process
dominated intrusion of the pluton’s core. The outer or
marginal zone is composed of two different members,
an older medium to coarse-grained granodiorite in the
west and a younger porphyritic monzogranite in the
east. Coarse tabular plagioclase crystals (up to 5 cm)
in the monzogranite define a primary magmatic foliation and lineation. Hornblende grains and grain aggregates in the coarse-grained granodiorite are also
oriented, with increasing fabric strengths approaching
the detachment fault zone. A gradual transition from
magmatic fabric to mylonitic foliation is observed
within 30 m of the detachment fault zone. The transition is shown from microscopic fabrics of the rocks, i.e.
from magmatic fabrics in the unsheared part, through
mylonitized magmatic fabrics in the transitional zone,
to mylonitic fabrics in the detachment fault zone.
Oriented crystals in the magmatic fabrics do not show
evidences for crystal plastic deformation, whereas
mylonitic foliation is composed of strongly elongated
and plastically deformed grains and grain aggregates.
Both fabrics, i.e. foliation in magmatic rocks and that
in mylonitic rocks, have identical orientation patterns, dipping WNW at the western part of the Yinmawanshan pluton. The shear sense in these granitic
mylonitic gneisses is top to the WNW and is consistent with that of the Jinzhou detachment’s mylonitic footwall.
The Chaoyangsi and Zhaotun granites (Fig. 1) are
small lower plate intrusions within the southern
detachment fault zone that we interpret as syntectonic.
The Chaoyangsi granite is represented by several
69
small intrusions distributed rather randomly within
the ductile shear zone. The intrusions appear to have
been spatially controlled by the detachment fault zone
and some of their original magmatic fabrics have been
transposed into mylonitic fabrics containing relict magmatic crystals. Their shear zone rocks have equally
developed mylonitic foliation and stretching lineation,
and are therefore, S-L type tectonites. The Zhaotun
granite, in contrast, is a granitic sheet with a welldeveloped stretching lineation. Foliation is so weakly
developed in comparison with the lineation that LNNS
tectonites are its major rock type.
It is significant that magmatic lineations in the
intrusions have consistent WNW–ESE orientations
that are parallel to the stretching lineations in the
overlying detachment fault rocks (Fig. 2c). This parallelism is suggestive of a syntectonic process of
magmatic emplacement (Paterson et al., 1989; Vernon, 2000), i.e. that magmatic flow in the lower plate
may have been influenced by relative slip between the
upper plate and the igneous melt below it. Accordingly, we believe, as did Guo et al. (2004), that the
Yinmawanshan pluton was deformed in close proximity to the Jinzhou detachment fault despite its map
appearance on Fig. 1 of being distant from it. The
western margin of the pluton has parallel magmatic
and mylonitic fabrics, the latter comparable to those of
the detachment fault’s lower plate. It is, therefore,
likely that the western margin of the pluton lay not
far below west-dipping detachment fault prior to subsequent erosion.
2.3. Deformational history of the lower plate
As is characteristic of the lower plates of other
metamorphic core complexes, Jinzhou fault-related
footwall rock assemblages record a history of progressive uplift under increasingly colder and brittle conditions. Such Jinzhou assemblages exhibit transitions
in time and space (upwards in the complex) from
fault-related gneiss to mylonitic schist and gneiss,
retrograded schist and gneiss, brecciated mylonite,
microbreccia, pseudotachylite and gouge (Fig. 3).
These lithologic transitions document progressive
overprinting of the fault’s footwall from depths
below the crust’s brittle–ductile transition to near surface conditions as it was drawn up and out from
beneath its hanging wall.
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J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
Fig. 3. Structural, microstructural characteristics and shear indicators in mylonitic rocks from the detachment fault zones in Liaonan mcc. a.
Shear bands in mylonites; b. sigmoidal fabric in quartzofeldspathic mylonite; c. S-C fabric in sheared monzogranite; d. S-C fabric in sheared
amphibolite (Scale: base line, a—50 cm; b–d—2.5 mm).
Biotite–plagioclase gneiss and hornblende–plagioclase gneiss derived from the Archean gneiss units are
the major types of fault-related gneisses. Rocks are
completely recrystallized with all mineral phases,
including quartz, plagioclase, biotite and hornblende,
showing characteristics of plastic flow. In contrast, the
gradationally overlying mylonitic zone is characterized by crystal–plastic deformation of some minerals,
primarily quartz, and by the brittle behavior of most
other silicates (Fig. 3). Outcrop and microscopic scale
structural elements of this zone include mylonitic
foliation, shear bands and extensional crenulation
cleavage (Fig. 3a), j fabrics (Fig. 3b), S-C fabrics
(Fig. 3c,d), stretching lineations, sheath folds and
other types of a-folds. They are useful shear-sense
indicators in the mylonitic rocks and indicate deformation in the crust’s brittle–ductile transition (Kawamoto
and Shimamoto, 1997; Fig. 3 a–d) accompanying a
relative southeast to northwest sense of shear. This
shear sense is compatible with the absolute southeastward displacement of the footwall of the Jinzhou fault
(see below).
In the microscopic domain, quartz, plagioclase
and biotite grains show distinct deformation microstructures. Quartz grains are intensely deformed via
crystal–plastic mechanisms (e.g. Nicholas and Poirier, 1976; Passchier and Trouw, 1996; Lin et al.,
2002), resulting in deformation microstructures
(elongated grains and grain aggregates, undulose
extinction, deformation lamellae), recovery microstructures (subgrains) and recrystallization microstructures (grain size reduction by subgrain rotation
and dynamic recrystallization, Fig. 3a,b). Microstructures indicating both crystal–plastic and brittle
deformation are preserved in plagioclase grains,
indicating their superposed deformation from deeper
to higher crustal levels (c.f. Tullis and Yund, 1987;
Fig. 3c).
2.4. Upper plate Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic rocks
(Fig. 4a–b, c–d)
The Liaonan mcc upper plate includes Archean
gneiss, and Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic strata
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
(Wang et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 1994) (Fig. 4a–b, c–
d). Brittle-deformed Neoproterozoic quartz sandstone,
siltstone, calcareous shale, and limestone are the most
common upper plate rocks. Their possible lower plate
counterparts, however, have been transformed into
quartzite (or quartz mylonite), mica schists, marble
(and calc-mylonite). Upper plate Paleozoic sedimentary rocks include interlayered limestone, sandstone
and, subordinate shale.
2.5. Cretaceous supradetachment basin
An important, but relatively little studied, component of the Liaonan mcc is an upper plate supradetachment basin (LBGMR, 1994; Friedmann and
Burbank, 1995; Davis et al., 2002) that covers
more than 200 km2 along the western trace of the
Jinzhou detachment (Figs. 1 and 4e–f). This Cretaceous half-graben unconformably overlies Archean
and Neoproterozoic rocks in the west. To the east
it lies above the west-dipping detachment fault,
where its strata dip eastward at moderate to steep
angles (ca. 308 to 508) into the fault. Andesitic
71
volcanic rocks have been reported in the base of
the basin (LBGMR, 1994), but they are found higher
in the section as well. Fluviatile and lacustrine sedimentary rocks are the dominant deposits in the basin
(LBGMR, 1994). Clasts of quartz sandstone and
limestone from Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic units,
and schist and gneiss from the lower plate basement
are found in the sediments. Sedimentary rocks in the
basin contain Cretaceous fossils, supportive of an
Early Cretaceous age, e.g. Dictyozamites, Cycadolepis, Elatocladus and Otozamites (LBGMR, 1994).
Radiometric dating of the volcanic units is needed to
more clearly establish the basin as being synchronous with mcc extension.
West-dipping normal faults that cut Neoproterozoic
to Lower Paleozoic (Cambrian–Ordovician) strata in
the hanging wall of the detachment fault north of
Jinzhou may be related to core complex development.
Large-scale basin groups in the Gulf of Liaoning to
the west and the Bohai Sea to the southwest may have
developed under similar conditions, although only
small basins are observed on the Liaodong Peninsula
(Qiu et al., 1994; Zhang, 1997).
Fig. 4. Geological sections across the Liaonan mcc (see Fig. 1 for locations). Pz–Pt unit: Partly metamorphosed Neoproterozoic to Paleozoic
sedimentary rocks; Lower plate: Mainly Archean gneisses and Mesozoic plutons. ab section length, 25 km; cd section length, 5 km (revised
from LBGMR, 1989); ef section length, 13 km.
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J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
3. Debate on core complex geochronology and
recent data
The age of the Liaonan mcc has been controversial (cf. Yang, 1985; Xu et al., 1991; Yang et al.,
1996; Chen et al., 1999). Yang (1985) first identified
the southern, ENE-striking segment of the detachment fault zone and named it the Dongjiagou ductile
shear zone (after the Archean Dongjiagou Formation
in the Anshan Group). It was thought of as an
Archean ductile shear zone. Xu et al. (1991) first
recognized and discussed extension and contraction
in the area and considered both to reflect Indosinian
deformation based on a whole rock Rb–Sr age (226
Ma) of a mylonite and K–Ar dating (225 Ma) of
muscovite grains in a felsic dike intruding the mylonite. The LBGMR (1994) was first to apply the
metamorphic core complex concept to Liaonan
extensional deformation. Yang et al. (1996) later
concluded that the Liaonan mcc was of Triassic
age, although the pluton they dated is not clearly
part of the mcc.
Recent reliable dating has established a new and
younger geochronological framework for the Liaonan mcc. Yin and Nie (1996) obtained 40Ar/39Ar
cooling ages within the NNE ductile shear zones
of ca. 110 to 113 Ma (biotite). Yang J.H. (personal
communication, 2004) has dated lower plate mylonitic rocks in both shear zone segments and has
obtained reasonably consistent 40Ar–39Ar ages with
the following ranges: hornblende, 124.2 to 113.3
Ma; biotite, 122.6 to 111.3 Ma; K-feldspar, 118.2
to 112.0 Ma; and muscovite, 111.9 Ma. These Jinzhou fault-related ages are consistent with 121–113
Ma 40Ar/39Ar ages (muscovite, biotite, K-feldspar)
from an extensional ductile shear zone across the
Jurassic Heigou pluton in the southern Liaodong
Peninsula (Yang et al., 2004); the shear zone is on
strike with the ENE-trending segment of the Jinzhou
detachment fault farther to the southwest.
In contrast, U–Pb dating of syntectonic plutons in
the Liaonan mcc is, not surprisingly, generally older
than its lower plate cooling ages. For example, single
zircon grains from the footwall Zhaotun monzogranite
yield an age of 128 F 5 Ma (Guo et al., 2004; Wu
et al., 2005). Yinmawashan U–Pb zircon ages vary
within the composite pluton, including 122 F 6 Ma for
an inner zone fine grained monzogranite, 129 F 2 Ma
for a porphyritic granite along the northern margin of
the pluton, and three ages varying between 120 F 4
Ma and 125 F 2 Ma for gneissic granitic rocks and
associated dikes in its southwestern margin (Guo et
al., 2004; Wu et al., 2005; Fig. 1). There is no conflict
between crystallization ages of the synkinematic plutons and cooling ages of footwall rocks in the detachment fault zone. Collectively, they document a
protracted period of crustal extension within the Liaonan mcc from ca. 130 Ma to 110 Ma. The final stages
of lower plate uplift and erosion must be still younger
than about 110 Ma.
4. Tectonic significance and implications of the
Liaonan metamorphic core complex
4.1. The tectonic setting of the Liaonan mcc
The Liaonan mcc is, to date, one of the two easternmost documented examples (Liaonan and Xujiaweizi) of core complex formation within a large
region of southern Siberia, Mongolia, and eastern
China affected by Cretaceous NW–SE to N–S crustal
extension. The origin of this extensional province
remains unresolved and constitutes one of the major
tectonic problems of eastern Asia. This problem stems
in part from (1) the vastness of the area of crustal
extension (more than two million km2), (2) the suddenness of the onset of extension across this huge
region (generally at 130–125 Ma), and (3) the complexities of the region’s earlier tectonics.
Following closure of a Paleoasian Ocean along the
northern margin of the North China plate in the Permian, and the Triassic collision of the North and
South China (Yangtze) plates to the south, the North
China (or Sino-Korean block) became the northern
part of an amalgamated continental plate (Li, 1994;
Yin and Nie, 1996; Zorin, 1999). In the late Mesozoic
this plate was further affected by Jurassic–Early Cretaceous closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk ocean that
separated it from Siberia, by subduction of Pacific
plates beneath it, and by Cenozoic collision with the
Indian plate to the south (Watson et al., 1987; Zhang
et al., 2001; Ren et al., 2002).
The Liaonan complex is one of six Early Cretaceous North China mcc’s that developed across the
northern margin of the Archean-floored North China
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
block (or bcratonQ as it is misleadingly called, given its
Phanerozoic history of complex orogenesis; cf. Davis
et al., 2001; Li et al., 2004). All developed, albeit in a
scattered, isolated pattern, across areas of major
Mesozoic north–south contraction and presumed crustal thickening related to thrust faulting, folding, and
Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous plutonism (Zheng and
Zhang, 1994; Li, 1994; Davis et al., 1996, 2002;
Darby et al., 2004). The Liaonan mcc lies within
just such an area of complicated prior tectonic history
(Zhang and Wang, 1995; Yin and Nie, 1996; Chen et
al., 1999; Gang et al., 1999; Wu et al., 2002).
The youngest major thrusting event in the Yanshan area of the North China block has been dated at
about 127 Ma in the Yunmeng Shan north of Beijing
(Davis et al., 1996, 2001). This age approximates the
beginning of distributed and somewhat diachronous
Early Cretaceous crustal extension in eastern Asia
(Li, 2000; Han et al., 2001; Davis et al., 1996, 2002;
Ren et al., 2002; Meng, 2003; Darby et al., 2004).
Much Mesozoic magmatism in eastern China prior to
the Early Cretaceous has adakitic signatures suggesting melt generation in or below a thick (N 45 km)
continental crust (Zhang et al., 2001). A correlation
between the spatial and temporal occurrence of contractional structures in the Yanshan belt of North
China and adakitic magmatism was recently proposed by Davis (2003). In contrast, the onset of
crustal extension in eastern Asia generally coincides
with regional intrusion of alkalic and subalkalic Atype granites, including the synkinematic plutons of
the Liaonan mcc (Wu et al., 2002, 2005; Guo et al.,
2004; Li et al., 2004).
Many different tectonic models have been proposed to elucidate the regional transition between
crustal contraction and extension. Amongst the most
often discussed are (1) gravitational collapse of contractionally thickened crust, perhaps triggered by plutonism (Davis et al., 2001, 2002; Zhang and Xu,
1998); (2) delamination of North China lithosphere
during subduction of the Izanagi plate under the Eurasian plate (Wu et al., 2002); (3) rollback of an
Izanagi (or other Pacific) subducting plate (Traynor
and Sladen, 1995; Davis et al., 2001); and (4) existence of a mantle plume and its effects on the overlying Eurasian lithosphere (Deng et al., 2003). As
stated at the beginning of this section, the problem
remains unresolved.
73
4.2. Liaonan mcc and the Tan Lu fault
The recent discovery of the Waziyu mcc in the
Yiwulü Shan of western Liaoning (Fig. 1; Darby et
al., 2004) with its WNW-dipping master detachment
fault compliments the earlier discovery of the Liaonan mcc in southeastern Liaoning with its similar
geometry. Both master detachment faults were active
in the Early Cretaceous, and their coeval development both west and east of the NNE-striking Tan Lu
fault raises interesting questions regarding the temporal, kinematic, and mechanical relationships of that
eastern Asian strike-slip fault to the extensional core
complexes.
Early Cretaceous sinistral slip has been documented
on the southernmost part of the Tan Lu fault in Anhui
province, including areas along the eastern margin of
the Dabie Shan collisional complex between the North
and South China blocks. Zhu et al. (2001) have
reported 6 whole rock 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages from
fault zone mylonite, ultramylonite, and phyllonite ranging in age from 132.5 F 0.5 to 120.5 F 0.75 Ma and,
subsequently (Zhu et al., 2004), a muscovite 40Ar/39Ar
age of 127.6 F 0.2 Ma from a Tan Lu mylonite; all
dated samples are characterized by horizontal stretching lineations. The age range of their dated samples,
e.g. 132.5 to 120.5 Ma, is closely similar to timing
constraints on the Liaonan mcc presented in this paper
(ca. 130 to 110 Ma), and on the Waziyu mcc to the
northwest (ca. 130 to 116 Ma; Zhang et al., 2003b;
Darby et al., 2004).
Despite evidence for Early Cretaceous Tan Lu fault
displacement in southern areas, however, the occurrence of such slip on more northerly portions of the
Tan Lu fault, specifically from the Shandong peninsula to the north, is considerably more problematic.
For one reason, sinistral slip on the Tan Lu fault in
these northern areas is stress and strain incompatible
with concurrent major WNW–ESE crustal extension
on both sides of the fault in the Gulf of Liaoning and
in close proximity to it. In addition, paleomagnetic
studies of the Korean Peninsula, eastern Liaoning, and
eastern Shandong (respectively, Doh et al., 2002; Lin
et al., 2003; Koo et al., 2003) are in agreement that no
latitudinal displacement between those areas and the
North China block (NCB) to the west is discernible
from Cretaceous data, although the sensitivity of such
studies does not preclude limited strike-slip displace-
74
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
ment on the intervening Tan Lu fault. As an aside, we
note that Early Cretaceous sinistral slip has been
documented in more outboard (coastal) regions of
the east Asian margin, including South Korea (e.g.,
Chough et al., 2000), northeast Japan (e.g., Sasaki,
2003), and Sikhote Alin, Russia (e.g., Golozubov and
Khanchuk, 1996).
Recent Shandong peninsula and neighboring North
China basin studies appear to be in agreement that
Early Cretaceous deformation in those areas was not
related to Tan Lu sinistral faulting. Zhang et al.
(2003c) have proposed that the earliest Cretaceous
Jiaolai basin in northern Shandong is a pull-apart
basin within a dextral Tan Lu system, and that the
middle Early Cretaceous was boverwhelmingly riftdominated and characterized by widespread intermediate volcanism, normal faulting, and basin subsidenceQ (op. cit., p. 243).
Most large gold deposits in Shandong, including
some on the northern margin of the Jiaolai basin that
were controlled by a low-angle normal fault, are
related to Early Cretaceous magmatism and were
mineralized between 130 and 115 Ma (Yao et al.,
2002; Zhang et al., 2003a). This age range is coincident with formation of the Liaonan mcc. Jin et al.
(2002) relied on extensive seismic data in the North
China basin to report that a NW-striking Middle to
Late Mesozoic fold-thrust belt was succeeded in the
Late Mesozoic by normal faults striking in the same
direction, a history similar to that of the Yanshan foldthrust belt exposed to the north where a contractional
to extensional tectonic transition occurred at about
130 Ma (Davis et al., 2001; Davis, 2003).
4.3. Liaonan mcc and large-scale crustal rotation
The paleomagnetic studies of Cretaceous strata
cited above (Doh et al., 2002; Lin et al., 2003; Koo
et al., 2003), while not supporting latitudinal displacements across the Tan Lu fault in northern China, are in
good agreement that the Korean peninsula, eastern
Liaoning, and contiguous areas generally east of the
fault have been rotated with respect to a western,
previously amalgamated North China–South China
block. Estimates of the clockwise rotation of the
ELK block (East Liaoning–Korea; Lin et al., 2003)
with respect to the SCB–NCB range from ca 348 to
208 (Zhao et al., 1999; Doh et al., 2002; Lin et al.,
2003; Koo et al., 2003). Collective paleomagnetic
data from Cretaceous strata within the rotated domain
indicate an average clockwise rotation of 22.58 F 10.28
(Lin et al., 2003, their Table 3, Fig. 7).
Most early hypotheses to explain the clockwise
rotation favored large sinistral displacements on a
curviplanar Tan Lu fault system, concave to the ESE
in northeastern China (cf. Doh et al., 2002). However,
the limited or absent Early Cretaceous slip on this
fault as discussed above effectively negates this hypothesis. More recently, Lin et al. (2003) have attributed
the rotation of the ELK to large-scale Cretaceous and
Cenozoic extension within a south-tapering wedge- or
triangular-shaped area, in northeastern China. This
area contains the large Songliao basin and a number
of smaller extensional basins of variable age (Xialiaohe, Zeya, Sanjiang). Lin et al. (2003) proposed
that the pole of rotation for this rotating triangular
crustal block lay in the southern part of the Bohai Sea
near the western edge of the Shandong peninsula; the
peninsula itself appears to be part of the NCB–SCB
block.
4.4. ELK block rotation and its relationship to Liaoning province mcc’s
Our studies in the Liaonan mcc and the recent
discovery of the Waziyu mcc in western Liaoning
(Darby et al., 2004) support the hypothesis of Lin et
al. (2003) that the rotation of the ELK block is the
consequence of Cretaceous extension along the eastern margin of the NCB. Those authors were unaware
of the two mcc’s and their significant contribution to
crustal extension in the southern region of their
hypothesized extensional wedge (Fig. 5).
Studies of core complexes in the lower Colorado
River region of the southwestern United States (e.g.
Davis and Lister, 1988; Lister and Davis, 1989; John
and Foster, 1993), and elsewhere, have confirmed that
core complex extension is accompanied by the active
footwall (i.e. lower plate) uplift of mid-crustal rocks,
leaving hanging walls more or less in situ with respect
to such reference surfaces as sea level or the geoid.
Both Liaoning master detachment faults, Waziyu and
Jinzhou, root WNW-ward and both had footwall rock
assemblages that were translated ESE-ward in Early
Cretaceous time—ca. 130 to 110 Ma for the Liaonan
complex (see above), and ca. 130 to 116 Ma for the
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
22 °
lin S
u
Xmcc
B
x
x
Sikh
90 km
ote-A
A
ture
N
Q
75
C
B
Gulf of
Liaoning
X in g -M e n
g S u tu re
Wmcc
NCB
ELK
ds
Lmcc
ult
se
TanL
u Fa
Shandong
Peninsula
an
Isl
e
an
p
Ja
lu
Su
Da
bie
SCB
Fig. 5. Tectonic map of eastern Liaoning, Korea, and contiguous areas (modified from Lin et al., 2003). The bold dashed lines define
approximately a wedge-shaped area of Mesozoic extensional basins, including the Songliao basin and the Early Cretaceous Xujiaweizi (Xmcc),
Waziyu (Wmcc), and Liaonan (Lmcc) metamorphic core complexes. The bold open circle is the pole of rotation inferred by Lin et al. (2003) for
clockwise rotation of the ELK block relative to a stable North China block (NCB). The upper left inset shows the locations of the Waziyu and
Liaonan mcc’s relative to the Gulf of Liaoning and the location of cross-section AB–B’C (Fig. 6) through them.
Waziyu mcc to the northeast (Zhang et al., 2003b;
Darby et al., 2004).
We estimate that the horizontal component of
extension along each of the master detachment faults
was in tens of kilometers. Estimates of such large
displacements can be deduced from the large transport
needed to bring mid-crustal rocks deformed in and
below the brittle–ductile transition to the surface along
faults of probable low dip (V 308–358 based on worldwide studies; cf. John and Foster, 1993; Pease and
Argent, 1999). Accordingly, we propose that (1) footwall displacements to the ESE in both mcc’s produced
absolute, not relative, crustal displacements away
from the stable NCB–SCB block, and that (2) these
displacements contributed significantly to rotation of
the ELK block in the vicinity of its pole of rotation.
This interpretation is supported by recent paleomagnetic studies on NCB Early Cretaceous volcanic
rocks in western Liaoning that were deposited within
the Yixian–Fuxin supradetachment basin above the
active west-dipping Waziyu detachment fault and its
lower plate (Zhu et al., 2002). Over 400 oriented
cores were taken from 55 lava flows in the Yixian
Formation at Sihetun and Zhuanchengzi and from
the Tuhulu and Dalinghe Formations of the Yixian–
Fuxin basin. Fifteen samples from the Yixian For-
76
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
mation provided new K–Ar ages ranging from
133.6 F 2.6 Ma to 120.4 F 2.3 Ma, an age range
that agrees well with recent 40Ar–39Ar dating of
the Sihetun section (132.9 F 5.1 to 123.9 F 1.5 Ma;
Chen et al., 2003). A Tuhulu Formation basalt from
the Fuxin basin yielded a K–Ar age of 119.0 F 0.4
(Zhu et al., 2002). Detailed paleomagnetic analysis
of these Cretaceous (K1) units led Zhu et al. (above)
to conclude that the Yixian–Fuxin basin area has
undergone neither significant latitudinal displacements nor rotation with respect to the NCB and
Eurasia, and was not, therefore, involved in the
rotation of the ELK.
The likelihood that both master detachment faults
root westward into the middle crust—as is typical of
most mcc’s given that detachment fault-related mylonitic and gneissic rocks typically have metamorphic
grades no higher than middle amphibolite facies—
raises the interesting possibility that crustal rotation
of the ELK may have involved only the upper crust
above an intracrustal zone of detachment related to the
brittle–ductile transition (Fig. 5). In this scenario, the
Tan Lu fault between the Waziyu and Lionan mcc’s
was cut off at mid-crustal depth, since in areas south
of Bohai Bay the fault separates different SCB and
NCB lithospheric blocks (Yin and Nie, 1998). Zheng
et al. (2003) reported that seismic imaging of the
Tanlu fault across the Luxi uplift in Shandong province clearly indicates that it crosses the entire crust
and offsets the Moho by 4 km.
4.5. Timing of ELK block rotation and Liaonan core
complex extension
Our conclusion that formation of the Liaonan and
Waziyu mcc’s contributed significantly to the rotation of the ELK crustal block is at variance with
conclusions of Lin et al. (2003) regarding the timing
of rotation. Although agreeing that crustal extension
in the Songliao Basin within the wedge-shaped terrane north of the Bohai Sea began in the Late
Jurassic or Early Cretaceous, they favor a later
Mesozoic–Cenozoic time for most of the block rotation. One reason for this conclusion is their interpretation that Early (K1) and Late (K2) Cretaceous
paleomagnetic poles from a very limited ELK data
set (6 pole determinations) are bstatistically consistentQ (Lin et al. (2003), pages 5–11, Table 3), and
thus require that most block rotation occurred at a
time younger than the sampled rock units. The two
bK2Q data sets come from poorly dated Dayu Group
units in the Benxi area of eastern Liaoning. Lin et al.
(2003) assigned an age range of 118–83 Ma to the
group based on the assumption that its non-reversed
magnetic signatures indicate formation during the
long Cretaceous normal polarity field. Even if their
assumption is correct, given that the K1–K2 boundary has been variably set at 96 Ma and 98.9 Ma
(Remane et al., 2000), rocks of the Dayu Group
could be wholly, or in part, Early Cretaceous.
South Korean paleomagnetic studies support largely Early Cretaceous rotation. Zhao et al. (1999)
collected new Cretaceous paleomagnetic data consistent with the hypothesis that regions south of the
Okchon zone experienced up to 368 clockwise rotation from the NCB between 121 and 114 Ma (34.38
for the early Aptian, 24.98 for the middle Aptian, and
0.98 for the late Aptian) in the middle part of Early
Cretaceous. Lin et al. (2003) dispute these interpretations, although they seem broadly compatible with the
more recent Korean data-based conclusions of Doh et
al. (2002). Based on a recent study of the Late Cretaceous Gongu basin in southwestern Korea (K–Ar volcanic rock ages ca. 82 Ma to 73.5 Ma) and an analysis
of other Korean paleomagnetic data, Doh et al. have
concluded that the bKorean Peninsula underwent
clockwise rotation of 21.28 F 5.38 for the middle
Early Cretaceous, 12.68 F 5.48 for the late Early Cretaceous, and 7.18 F 9.88 for the Late Cretaceous with
respect to EurasiaQ (p. 737).
Returning to the age of extension in the Songliao
basin, Ren et al. (2002) have concluded that syn-rift
deposition in the Songliao Basin began in the latest
Jurassic (Yinsheng, Shahexi, Huoshiling Fms.), continued through the Early Cretaceous (Denglouku
Fm.), and ended in the Aptian (K1; Quanton Fm.);
no radiometric ages in support of these stratigraphic
calls were provided. However, Zhang et al. (2000)
report that Early Cretaceous extension in the Xujiaweizi area of the west-central Songliao Basin was
accompanied by a mcc-related detachment fault active
between ca. 133 Ma and 120 Ma based on K–Ar ages.
Mylonitic rocks in the footwall of the detachment
fault (recovered only from cores) have yielded a
40
Ar–39Ar age of 126.7 F 1.5 Ma (op.cit.). Collectively, these ages indicate synchrony with activity
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
along the Waziyu and Liaonan detachment faults
farther south, and support the interpretations for ELK
rotation proposed by Lin et al. (2003) and amplified
here.
5. Conclusions
The Liaonan mcc of southeastern Liaoning province is an asymmetric Cordilleran-style metamorphic
core complex with a master detachment fault, the
Jinzhou fault. That fault roots to the WNW under
the western Liaodong Peninsula and, in all likelihood,
the Gulf of Liaoning. A thick sequence of lower plate
fault-related mylonitic and gneissic rocks derived
from Archean and Early Cretaceous crystalline rock
protoliths has been transported to the surface from
mid-crustal depths. U–Pb ages of lower plate syntectonic plutons (ca. 130–120 Ma), 40Ar–39Ar cooling
ages in the mylonitic and gneissic sequence (ca. 120–
110 Ma), and an Early (?) Cretaceous supradetachment basin attests to the Early Cretaceous age of the
extensional complex.
The recent discovery of a comparable and coeval
mcc in western Liaoning, the Waziyu mcc of the
Yiwulü Shan (Darby et al., 2004), indicates that the
Gulf of Liaoning region was a locus of profound
crustal extension. This conclusion is supportive of
the recent hypothesis of Lin et al. (2003) regarding
the cause of the paleomagnetically documented clock-
77
wise rotation (ca 22.58 F 10.28) of the Korean peninsula and adjacent areas with respect to a non-rotated
North China–South China continental block. They
proposed that the rotation is the consequence of crustal extension within a wedge-shaped block, dominated
by the Songliao basin, which tapers southwards towards the Bohai Sea (of which the Gulf of Liaoning is
the northernmost part).
Lin et al. (2003) were unaware of the Liaonan and
Waziyu mcc’s and argued that most of the rotation
was post Early Cretaceous and, in part, early Cenozoic. However, the ca. 130–120 Ma ages of the two
Liaoning mcc’s and a Songliao basin mcc (Xujiaweizi), discovered only by recent drilling through its
younger stratigraphic cover, support Korean workers’
conclusion that most of the clockwise rotation was
Early Cretaceous. The well-dated Yixian–Fuxin supradetachment basin lies above the WNW-dipping
Waziyu detachment fault. Paleomagnetic data from
volcanic rocks in this upper plate section (ca. 134–
120 Ma) indicate that it, and therefore its basement,
has not been rotated significantly with respect to the
North China–South China block (Zhu et al., 2002).
This finding leads to our conclusion that the lower
plates of the Waziyu and Liaonan metamorphic core
complexes have been displaced ESE-ward in an absolute sense away from the stable Eurasian block, thus
contributing to the significant rotation of Korea and
contiguous areas. The displacement is likely to have
affected only the upper crust, with the Waziyuu and
Fig. 6. Synchronous Early Cretaceous extension in the Waziyu and Liaonan metamorphic core complexes, Liaoning province, northern China.
Middle crustal rocks below the brittle–ductile transition are drawn out from beneath the fixed upper crust of the North China Block (NCB) and
are displaced upwards to surface levels in the two core complexes. The gray shaded zone is the brittle–ductile transition only at the time of core
complex initiation. As rocks in the brittle–ductile transition and underlying crust are uplifted in the footwalls of the two detachment faults, new
brittle–ductile transitions are progressively formed under appropriate T and P (depth) conditions across the uplifting units. Middle crustal rocks
uplifted in the footwall of the western Waziyu mcc remain at depth farther east where they underlie the upper plate of the Liaonan complex.
Although the diagram shows extension across the two complexes as additive, they are not aligned in a NW–SE direction and it is possible that
the two complexes are only en echelon examples of more limited extension.
78
J. Liu et al. / Tectonophysics 407 (2005) 65–80
Jinzhou faults flattening into a mid-crustal shear zone
below the brittle–ductile transition (Fig. 6). If this is
the case, the Tan Lu fault that lies between the two
core complexes was probably truncated at depth, since
in areas to the south it forms the boundary between
the North China and South China lithospheric blocks.
Finally, it is of interest that the two extensional complexes lie not far north of the Bohai Bay, the area
proposed by Lin et al. (2003) as the site of the pole of
rotation for Korea’s clockwise displacement.
Acknowledgements
This study is funded by NNSF Project Nos:
40472105, 40272084, and 40272045. Careful reviews
by two anonymous reviewers of an earlier version of
this manuscript were very helpful in preparation of the
current paper, as were the constructive comments of
Editor Jean-Pierre Burg.
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