Abstract

Identification of Paleoproterozoic tectonothermal events in ancient continental blocks is crucial for understanding the history of the Columbia supercontinent. The Dunhuang Block is located east of the Tarim Craton and it keeps archives of multiple events of Paleoproterozoic magmatism and metamorphism. It represents an excellent window to understand tectonic relationships between the Dunhuang Block and adjacent Tarim and North China cratons and to trace its tectonic evolution during the assembly of Columbia. In this paper, we present first data on zircon and apatite U-Pb geochronology, whole-rock geochemistry and Hf-in-zircon isotopes from newly discovered Paleoproterozoic meta-igneous rocks, amphibolite and granitic gneiss, that are exposed in the Dongshuigou area of the Dunhuang Block. Amphibolite and granitic gneiss yielded similar U-Pb zircon ages of crystallization of igneous protoliths, ∼2.02 …

Date

May 1, 2026

Authors

Xiang Ren, Baoping Gan, Inna Safonova, Faqiao Li, Qingfei Sun, Hongrui Xu

Journal

Precambrian Research

Volume

436

Pages

108040

Publisher

Elsevier