Differential destruction of the North China Craton: A tectonic perspective

The North China Craton (NCC) provides one of the classic examples of craton destruction, although the mechanisms and processes of its decratonization are yet to be fully understood. Here we integrate petrological, geochemical, geochronological and geophysical information from the NCC and conclude that the destruction of the craton involved multiple events of circum-craton subduction, which provided the driving force that destabilized mantle convection and tectonically eroded the lithospheric mantle beneath the craton. Furthermore, subducted-slab-derived fluids/melts weakened the subcontinental lithospheric mantle and facilitated thermo-mechanical and chemical erosion of the lithosphere. The more intense destruction beneath the eastern part of the NCC reflects the crucial contribution of Pacific plate subduction from the east that overprinted the mantle lithosphere modified during the early subduction processes. Our study further establishes the close relationship between lithospheric modification via peridotite–melt reactions induced by oceanic plate subduction and cratonic destruction.

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► Integrated petrological, geochemical and geophysical model for the destruction of the North China Craton.
► Circum-craton subduction provided the driving force that destabilized the craton.
► Subducted-slab-derived fluids/melts weakened the subcontinental lithospheric mantle.
► More intense destruction in the eastern part correlated to Pacific plate subduction.
► Lithospheric modification via peridotite–melt reactions induced by oceanic plate subduction.