Earth-Science Reviews 208 (2020) 103275

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Cambrian–Triassic geodynamic evolution of central Qiangtang, Tibet: T

Comment
⁎
Lu Zenga, Li-Zhi Shib,
a
Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, China
b
Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: We disagree on many basic aspects of the Cambrian–Triassic tectonic reconstruction of central Qiangtang, Tibet,
Central Qiangtang proposed by Xu et al. (2020) (Earth-Science Reviews, v. 201, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.
Shuanghu Paleo-Tethyan suture zone 103083), because their reconstructions are inconsistent with geological evidence. The allochthonous fragments
Tectonic reconstruction in the accretionary complex of the Shuanghu suture zone should not be used as indicators of south Qiangtang
Jinsa Paleo-Tethyan suture zone
geology. Furthermore, no evidence exists for repeated drift–collision between north and south Qiangtang along
Tibetan Plateau
the Shuanghu suture zone from the Paleozoic to Triassic, because the Shuanghu Paleo-Tethys Ocean likely
existed from the Cambrian to Triassic, as indicated by continuous ophiolitic rocks. No evidence supports the
occurrence of north Qiangtang–Qaidam–Kunlun collision during the Middle Ordovician to early Silurian, be-
cause the northward subduction of the Anyemaqen–Kunlun–Muztagh Paleo-Tethyan branch between these two
tectonic entities occurred from the Paleozoic to Triassic, as inferred from radiolarian-bearing ophiolitic rocks
and coeval arc magmatism in the Kunlun block. In addition, there is no evidence for the North Qiangtang–South
China collision during the late Carboniferous to early Permian, because the Jinsa Paleo-Tethyan oceanic branch
was active at this time, as evidenced by the presence of radiolarian-bearing ophiolitic fragments in the suture
zone.

1. Introduction somewhat misleading. We disagree with some aspects of their re-

The past two decades have seen major progress in understanding the
geology of the Qiangtang region in Tibet. For example, the accumulated
evidence indicates that the in situ Paleo-Tethyan Shuanghu suture zone
separates the north and south Qiangtang terranes (NQT and SQT)
(Fig.1), and that these two terranes collided during the Triassic (e.g.,
Dan et al., 2019; Tang and Zhang, 2012, 2014; Zhai et al., 2016; Zhang,
2001; Zhang et al., 2002, 2006c, 2007, 2011), likely in a scissor-like
fashion (e.g., Lu et al., 2017, 2019; Zhang and Tang, 2009; Zhang et al.,
2018). Moreover, the Qiangtang block has been identified as a locus of
upwelling mantle plumes during the Permian (Zhang and Zhang, 2017).
However, some key aspects of the evolution of this major continental
block in the interior of the Tibetan Plateau are ambiguous and remain
debated.
Xu et al. (2020) reconstructed the tectonic history of the Qiangtang
block and its neighboring regions based on a careful review of geolo-
gical, geochemical, and geochronological data from Qiangtang. How-
ever, several fundamental facts have been overlooked in their re-
constructions; therefore, the reconstructed tectonic models are
constructions, as explained below.
2. Allochthonous fragments in the accretionary complex of the
Shuanghu suture zone are not indicative of the geological history
of south Qiangtang
It is generally agreed that a large-scale accretionary complex
(mélange) up to ~100 km wide exists in the central Qiangtang sector of
the Shuanghu suture zone (Fig.1), regardless of whether this complex is
believed to represent an in situ suture zone or an underthrust meta-
morphic dome (see Kapp et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2006a, 2006b; Liang
et al., 2017). This blueschist- and eclogite-bearing accretionary com-
plex (e.g., Kapp et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2006a, 2006b) contains many
tectonic blocks of Cambrian–Triassic ophiolite (e.g., Zhai et al., 2016;
Zhang et al., 2016b; Dan et al., 2019), Paleozoic arc-magmatic rocks,
and Paleozoic metamorphic basement (Liang et al., 2017).
These features of central Qiangtang geology are key in re-
constructing the tectonic evolution of the Qiangtang block. However,
Xu et al. (2020) did not consider these features in the Qiangtang

⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: 86547864@qq.com (L.-Z. Shi).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103275
Received 8 June 2020; Received in revised form 27 June 2020; Accepted 2 July 2020
Available online 07 July 2020
0012-8252/ © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
L. Zeng and L.-Z. Shi
Fig. 1. Simplified tectonic map of the Tibetan Plateau showing major terranes (revised after Zhang et al., 2012). The Shuanghu suture zone (SHS) is after Zhang and
Tang (2009) and Tang and Zhang (2012, 2014). Note that the Anyemaqen–Kunlun–Muztagh suture zone (AMKS) is scattered with Cambrian–Triassic ophiolitic
fragments.
reconstructions. In particular, Xu et al. (2020) attributed the Paleozoic
arc-related felsic magmatic fragments in the Shuanghu suture zone to
the in situ basement or intrusive rocks of the SQT. These fragments of
Paleozoic felsic magmatic rocks most likely represent allochthonous
fragments of the mélange/accretionary complex exposed in this area
(Kapp et al., 2000; Liang et al., 2017), and they could have been derived
from the NQT rather than the SQT, according to the generally accepted
northward subduction of the Shuanghu Paleo-Tethyan oceanic branch,
and are thus inappropriate for reconstructing the tectonic history of the
SQT.
3. No evidence for repeated Paleozoic–Triassic drift–collision
between north and south Qiangtang along the Shuanghu suture
zone
One of the most important advances in Qiangtang geology in recent
decades is the identification of Cambrian–Triassic ophiolitic fragments
along the Shuanghu suture zone (e.g., Zhai et al., 2016; Zhang et al.,
2016b; Dan et al., 2019), indicating that the Shuanghu Paleo-Tethyan
oceanic branch was in existence during this period, which is in-
compatible with the middle–late Silurian NQT–SQT collision proposed
by Xu et al. (2020). Moreover, no magmatic, stratigraphic, or structural
evidence has been reported in support of the middle Cambrian–middle
Silurian subduction of the Paleo-Tethys oceanic lithosphere along the
northern NQT margin, which has been cited by Xu et al. (2020) as the
trigger for separation of the NQT from the SQT, alongside initiation of
the Shuanghu Paleo-Tethyan oceanic branch between the two terranes
(see fig. 11B and text of Xu et al., 2020). Furthermore, no geologic
evidence exists for a rift that occurred and then developed into an
oceanic basin between the NQT and SQT during the Late Devonian to
early Carboniferous (fig. 11E of Xu et al., 2020).
In particular, we note that the purported middle–late Silurian
NQT–SQT collision (fig. 11D of Xu et al., 2020) is based only on the
discovery of a fragment of Silurian high-pressure mafic granulite (me-
tamorphosed at ca. 422 Ma) along the Shuanghu suture zone (Zhang
et al., 2014). This granulite, which contains pre-metamorphic inherited
magmatic cores, has been considered of continental lithospheric origin,
thus marking the NQT–SQT collision (Zhang et al., 2014). However,
recent studies have revealed that fragments of high-pressure meta-
morphic rocks of continental origin in a suture zone are not necessarily
2
Earth-Science Reviews 208 (2020) 103275
indicative of continental collision, because continental arc material
could be eroded into a subduction channel, then transported to deeper
domains of the subduction zone where they may undergo high-pressure
and/or high-temperature metamorphism. They may then be partly ex-
humed to the subsurface along a well-lubricated subduction channel
(e.g., Yamamoto et al., 2009; Yan and Zhang, 2019), as observed in
active western Pacific subduction zones (e.g., Yamamoto et al., 2009).
Similarly, the continentally sourced Silurian high-pressure mafic gran-
ulite along the Shuanghu suture zone most likely represents exhumed
high-pressure metamorphic fragments that were scraped off the con-
tinental lithosphere, and is thus not indicative of continental collision.
This more logical explanation for the presence of Silurian high-pressure
mafic granulites is consistent with the long-lived Shuanghu Paleo-
Tethyan oceanic branch described above, and is inconsistent with the
repeated drift–collision tectonic model of Xu et al. (2020) for the
Qiangtang region from the Paleozoic to Triassic.
4. No evidence to support the collision between north Qiangtang
and Qaidam–Kunlun during the Middle Ordovician–early Silurian,
or collision with South China during the late Carboniferous–early
Permian
The Qaidam–Kunlun terrane (QKT) of Xu et al. (2020) is separated
from the Songpan–Ganzi complex by the east Kunlun–Anyemaqen
(EKL–ANMQ) suture zone (Fig.1). Voluminous Cambrian–Silurian and
Permian–Triassic plutonic rocks in the Kunlun subterrane indicate that
it was a long-lived magmatic arc, resulting from the northward sub-
duction of the EKL–ANMQ Paleo-Tethyan oceanic branch (e.g., Dai
et al., 2013). Several ophiolite suites of Cambrian–Triassic age, as in-
ferred from isotopic dating and radiolarian biostratigraphy, are well
exposed along the EKL–ANMQ suture zone (e.g., Yang et al., 1996;
Zhang et al., 2000), indicating the EKL–ANMQ Paleo-Tethyan oceanic
branch did not close until the Late Triassic. This finding is consistent
with the deposition of a great thickness of turbidites in the Songpan–-
Ganzi basin between the QKT and NQT that continued throughout the
Triassic (Zhang et al., 2008). Thus, the Middle Ordovician–early Si-
lurian NQT–QKT collision, as proposed in fig. 11c and section 4.1.2.2 of
Xu et al. (2020), is subject to debate.
In addition, recent studies have revealed that magmatism with a
distinct arc affinity occurred along the northern NQT margin as early as
L. Zeng and L.-Z. Shi
the Late Devonian, and lasted into the Triassic (Fig.1). These Late De-
vonian–Triassic magmatic rocks have been dated to 380–202 Ma and
exhibit geochemical and SreNd isotopic characteristics consistent with
derivation from a depleted mantle source metasomatized by silicate
melts of a subducting oceanic slab, indicating subduction of the (Jinsa)
Paleo-Tethyan oceanic branch along the northern NQT margin (e.g.,
Wang et al., 2007; Zhang et al., 2016a; Lu et al., 2017). The occurrence
of many upper Paleozoic oceanic fragments containing index radi-
olarian-bearing cherts along the Jinsa suture zone north of the NQT
(e.g., the Xijin Ulan ophiolite suite at ~90°E, Fig.1; Li and Bian, 1993)
also supports the idea that the Jinsa Paleo-Tethyan oceanic branch re-
mained open during the late Paleozoic. Thus, the late Carboniferous to
early Permian NQT–South China collision described in fig. 11F and
section 4.1.5 of Xu et al. (2020) is not supported, as the northern NQT
margin was still subject to Paleo-Tethyan subduction at this time.
Declaration of Competing Interest
We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships
with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence
our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any
nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be
construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the
manuscript entitled.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Douwe van Hinsbergen for kind editorial hand-
ling and to Ian Metcalfe and the anonymous reviewer for helpful review
comments. This work was supported by the Second Tibetan Plateau
Scientific Expedition and Research (grant no. 2019QZKK0902), the CAS
‘Light of West China’ Program (grant no. Y9R2140145), and the Youth
Fund of Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese
Academy of Sciences (grant no. Y9K2100100).
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