Detrital zircons from phanerozoic rocks of the Songliao Block, NE China: Evidence and tectonic implications

Rocks that crop out in the northern part of the Songliao Block are mainly consist of high-grade metamorphic gneiss, Paleozoic strata and Mesozoic granites. They are essentially similar to rocks reported from beneath the Songliao Basin that occupies the majority of the Songliao Block. Four samples of Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks from Tieli in the north-eastern part of the Songliao Block yield detrital zircon U–Pb ages ranging from 2690 to 501 Ma, with four age populations at: 2071–2690 Ma, with a peak at 2585 Ma; 1776–1997 Ma, with a peak at 1890 Ma; 719–991 Ma, with a peak at 800 Ma; and 501–592 Ma, with a peak at 518 Ma. These are similar to age populations in other parts of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), although sediments from the Songliao Block contain more abundant Archean and Proterozoic detrital zircons than the neighboring Jiamusi–Khanka Block to the east and Xing’an Block to the west. This may indicate that rocks of this age comprise a minor component of the Songliao Block. The Pan-African zircon ages from the Songliao Block, taken together with ∼500 Ma magmatic and high-grade metamorphic zircons obtained from the nearby Erguna, Xing’an and Jiamusi–Khanka blocks, indicate that Pan-African events affected all blocks of the CAOB in NE China. This suggests that these blocks not only share a common basement, but that they had a common history. An extensive Late Pan-African (∼500 Ma) orogenic terrane thus occupies much of the CAOB in NE China.

► Greenschist facies metasedimentary rocks in the Songliao Block show peak detrital zircon U–Pb ages of 2585 Ma, 1890 Ma, 800 Ma, and 518 Ma.
► The youngest population reflects Late Pan-African events that have now been identified in all the NE China blocks within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt.
► These blocks have a common basement and common history, which was part of a Pan-African orogenic belt developed along the southern margin of the CAOB.
► Its relation to a similar belt developed along the southern margin of the Siberia Craton is currently unknown.